ERG, through its subsidiary ERG Power Generation, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital of MP Solar, a Dutch company owned by the ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund.
MP Solar owns 18 solar PV projects in operation through seven Italian special purpose vehicles (SPVs) located in Puglia, Molise, Lazio, and Sardinia, with a total installed capacity of 33.8 MW and overall annual production of 46 GWh.
These projects started operation in 2011 and benefited from the Conto Energia (II, III, IV) tariff regime.
The transaction amount in terms of enterprise value as of December 31, 2021, is €128 million (~$136.8 million), and the 2021 EBITDA is €16.6 million (~$17.7 million). The closing of the agreement will take place in July 2022.
“This acquisition consolidates ERG’s presence in the Italian PV market in line with the strategy of technological diversification envisaged in the 2022-2026 business plan. The agreement will allow us to achieve industrial synergies by integrating the systems within our portfolio and revamping interventions on selected projects,” commented CEO of ERG Paolo Merli.
UniCredit served as the financial adviser for the transaction. Bird & Bird served as a legal adviser, Ernst & Young as an accounting and tax adviser, and DNV-GL acted as a technical adviser.
In December 2021, ERG and GEI Subasta 1 signed an agreement to acquire the entire capital of two project companies under Spanish law. These companies own two solar projects in operation in southern Spain’s Castilla de la Mancha and Andalusia regions, with 50 and 41.6 MW, respectively, totaling 91.6 MW. The projects were commissioned in early 2020. The transaction’s purchase price is $105.7million
In May 2022, MET Group, an integrated European energy company, signed share purchase agreements with Italian developers to acquire a 100% stake in five greenfield solar PV development projects in Central and Southern Italy with a total capacity of 213 MW. The projects are expected to achieve the ready-to-build stage in 2024.
According to Mercom’s recently published Q1 2022 solar funding and M&A report, 23 GW of large-scale solar projects were acquired in Q1 2022 compared to 13.1 GW in Q4 2021.
