Vei Green, a renewable energy-focused Italian GP, has bought a 6 megawatts (MW) solar portfolio from UK-based Good Energies.
The park, in operation since the third quarter of 2010, is composed of six plants located in Puglia, Southern Italy. It will generate more than 180,000 megawatt-hours, avoiding the emission of more than 80,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Prothea supported VEI Green on the sourcing, valuation and acquisition of the project, while Lennox advised Good Energies on the sales process.
Vei Green is a subsidiary of VEI Capital, an investment firm funded by some of Italy’s largest banks including Intesa San Paolo, Palladio Finanziaria and Assicurazioni Generali. It focuses on renewable investments in Southern Europe and Italy.
Good Energies belongs to the Bregal Investments group, which manages the fortune of Europe’s Brenninkmeijer family. The firm comprises a number of private equity and fund investment vehicles, with more than €7 billion deployed since 2002. The latest deals sealed by its funds include the buyouts of event production company Omniforce and software business proALPHA, both completed in August.
“The European renewable energy market is getting increasingly integrated with cross-border deals becoming more and more common,” commented David Armanini, managing director of Prothea, and Julian Hantrais, co-founder of Lennox, in a statement. “Consolidation deals are expected to play a major role in reshaping the energy market in Europe and it constitutes a unique opportunity for players to strengthen their market positioning.”
Recent such deals have included Broxted Solar Farm, a 32MW solar park currently being built by Spain’s Santander, as well as Kuolavaara-Keulakkopää and Joukhaisselkä, two Finnish wind farms acquired by London-based Impax Asset Management last week.
