Solar energy firm SOLEK has closed a $379 million financing package, including a private placement of 20-year bonds in the United States for its projects in Chile.
The privately owned Czech firm raised $178 million through the private placement and $75 million in mezzanine financing, plus other forms of loans.
The company owns a 284 MW portfolio of solar projects in Chile.
BNP Paribas and Natixis, New York Branch acted as placement agents, arrangers, and lenders. BCI and Scotiabank Chile acted as agents and lenders on local facilities. White & Case and Guerrero Olivos served as international and regional legal counsels to the company.
The proceeds from the private-placement bonds will be used to finance expansion plans and refinance existing debt, SOLEK said. The company has 18 solar projects in Europe and 35 in Chile. In addition, it has 38 renewable energy projects under development in Chile.
The company aims to install 400 MW of capacity globally by the end of this year, mostly in Latin America. It also had a 1.4 GW project pipeline in Europe.
“Thanks to the big opportunities that the renewable energy sector offers today, SOLEK has been experiencing a period of dynamic growth that implicates financing requirements. We had to meet stringent accreditation criteria to access financing on the USPP market. This flexible financing will allow us to focus on our PV projects and further development,” said Zdeněk Sobotka, founder and CEO of the SOLEK Group.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding came to $5.3 billion in 62 deals, a decrease of 46% compared to $9.8 billion in 52 deals in Q4 2022.
Peridot Solar Limited (PSL), a developer, owner, and operator of solar and storage projects and a subsidiary of FitzWalter Capital Limited, recently secured €120 million (~$129 million) bilateral financing from Infranity, an investment firm for the construction of 7 solar PV assets for a total capacity of 178 MW portfolio in Italy.
