CrossBoundary Energy, a renewable energy developer, secured a $140 million senior debt commitment from the Standard Bank of South Africa on a fully underwritten basis.
The funding is being undertaken as a first tranche within a broader mandate with the Standard Bank of South Africa, which has been appointed to lead and arrange up to $300 million in senior debt. With this funding, the company plans to scale up its renewable energy portfolio and serve commercial and industrial (C&I) clients across Africa.
Cygnum Capital acted as the exclusive financial adviser for CrossBoundary Energy, and Bracewell (U.K.) was the borrower’s counsel. Trinity International acted as the lender’s counsel on the transaction.
“Scalable, affordable infrastructure financing solutions are a catalyst to unlock reliable and affordable power access for businesses on the continent. Our partnership with Standard Bank will allow us to expand and accelerate energy-as-a-service to African customers, ultimately improving the sustainability and competitiveness of businesses across Africa”, said Pieter Joubert, President and Chief Investment Officer at CrossBoundary Energy.
CrossBoundary Energy provides financed renewable-led power solutions to enterprises in Africa. Its current awarded portfolio is stated to comprise $570 million of projects across 18 African countries, with 330 MW of solar and wind assets and 178 MWh of battery energy storage solutions.
The portfolio features large-scale renewable-led hybrid power plants for mines, rooftop and ground-mount solar PV plants for industrial clients, and distributed solar PV and battery power solutions for telecommunications sites.
According to Mercom’s recently released 9M and Q3 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report, solar debt financing activity in 9M 2024 totaled $16.7 billion in 68 deals, 4% higher than in 9 M 2023, when $16 billion was raised in 54 deals. This increase in solar debt financing activity reflects the growing confidence in the solar energy sector and the potential for further growth and development.
In November, Birch Creek Energy, a utility-scale solar and energy storage project developer, secured a $150 million credit facility provided by KKR’s High-Grade Asset-Based Finance strategy via insurance accounts managed by KKR.
