Pantheon acquires five European assets

Pantheon Ventures has bought five European renewable and concession-based assets as European manager Marguerite begins to wind down its first fund.

The London-based investment firm has taken full control of the Toul-Rosières 2 and Massangis 1 solar projects in France, each with a capacity of 36MW. It has also taken Marguerite’s 22.5 percent stake in the 288MW Butendiek offshore wind farm in Germany and its 10 percent share of the 326MW C-Power offshore wind site in Belgium.

The non-renewable energy asset acquired by Pantheon is a 45 percent share in the Autovía del Arlanzón toll road in Spain. All five of the projects bought are operational and will continue to be managed by Marguerite.

The acquisition was made via investment vehicle Marguerite Pantheon, owned by a pool of funds and managed accounts run by Pantheon. An SEC form filed by the vehicle in September revealed it has raised $257.7 million from three investors. Financial details for the deal were not disclosed.

Marguerite has become the second shareholder to exit the Butendiek wind farm following PKA’s decision to sell its 22.5 percent share to Itochu last year. The Danish pension fund generated a 22 percent net IRR from the investment.

The exits are the first five out of 20 investments made by the €710 million Marguerite Fund, established in 2010 by the European Investment Bank, Poland’s Gospodarstwa Krajowego, the French Caisse des Dépôts Group, the Italian Cassa depositi e prestiti, Germany’s KfW and the Spanish Instituto de Crédito Oficial.

The five banks have now contributed another €100 million each in addition to €200 million from the EIB to create a second vehicle with a similar greenfield focus on renewables, broadband and transport connections. The fund does not plan to raise funds from private investors.