- 396-MW German offshore wind farm
development project raises EUR 1.6 billion
- Represents one of the largest project
financed offshore wind projects in the country
- Strong equity consortium with Partners
Group, InfraRed Capital Partners, DEME and GE
- First large-scale commercial deployment
of the GE Haliade 150-6MW turbine
On behalf of its shareholders, Merkur Offshore GmbH is pleased
to announce that the 396-megawatt Merkur offshore wind development
project has confirmed financial close. Merkur is a
construction-ready wind farm located approximately 45km north of
the islands of Borkum, Germany, in the North Sea. It will consist
of 66 turbines and once complete will generate approximately 1,750
GWh annually, enough clean energy to power around 500,000 homes. A
total capital investment of ca. EUR 1.6 billion was raised from
equity investors and bank lenders on a non-recourse project
financing basis.
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Close to EUR 500 million in equity was provided by a consortium
of five sponsors comprising of Partners Group, the global private
markets investment manager (with a 50% equity share on behalf of
its clients); InfraRed Capital Partners, the infrastructure and
real estate investment manager (with a 25% equity share on behalf
of its infrastructure investors); DEME Concessions Wind, the
infrastructure investment arm of the DEME Group (12.5%); GE Energy
Financial Services, the energy investing arm of the industrial
company (6.25%); and, L’Agence de l’environnement et de la maîtrise
de l’énergie (ADEME), acting in the name and on behalf of the
French State (6.25%).
Brandon Prater, Partner and Co-Head Private Infrastructure,
Partners Group, stated: "With several coal-fired and nuclear power
plants due to be retired across Germany by 2020, Merkur is a timely
project and will contribute towards maintaining the country's
energy supply, while catering to the long-term shift towards
renewables in the power generation mix. On this project we have
strong and experienced equipment and engineering partners, as well
as equity partners, and look forward to working with them to
successfully complete Merkur."
Alain Bernard, Director and Chief Executive Officer of the DEME
Group, said: “With our investments in the Merkur project, DEME
continues to be at the forefront of offshore wind energy
developments in Germany and beyond. GeoSea, DEME’s specialist in
complex offshore marine engineering projects, will realize the
construction of Merkur Offshore. Our specialist team in Bremen will
play a major role in the execution of the project, contributing
significantly to Germany’s energy transition plans.”
Jérôme Pécresse, President and CEO of GE Renewable Energy, said:
"This is a significant milestone for both the Merkur Offshore
project and the European offshore wind industry. Securing this
funding ensures the first large-scale commercial deployment of our
state-of-the-art Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine in Europe.
The Merkur project also signals our continued commitment to the
development of offshore wind farms around the world."
Stephane Kofman, Director, Infrastructure at InfraRed, stated:
“InfraRed is pleased to be working with strong partners and is
looking forward to the successful development and construction of
this flagship renewable energy project. Offshore wind is a sector
particularly aligned to experienced infrastructure investors such
as InfraRed as it enables the application of complex structuring
skills to deliver a large scale European renewable energy project
that will positively contribute to a sustainable future energy
source and reduce reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power.
InfraRed is pursuing similar opportunities in Europe but will also
continue systematic origination activities in core target
geographies including North America and Australasia.”
The Merkur Offshore wind farm will be one of Germany's largest
wind farms. GE will supply 66 Haliade 150-6 megawatt offshore
turbines, installed by DEME, and built and operated by Merkur
Offshore. Project construction will start immediately and will be
undertaken by GeoSea, member of the DEME Group.
With strong project fundamentals, including contracting and
secured grid connection, the debt was arranged in an unprecedented
record time of four months. A group of ten leading international
and local banks committed approximately EUR 1.2 billion of senior
secured debt to the project. The lenders’ group comprises of KfW
Mittelstandsbank, under the umbrella of its German Offshore Wind
Programme, as well as nine commercial lenders including: ABN Amro,
Commerzbank (Modelling and Tax Bank), Deutsche Bank (Account Bank,
Facility & Security Agent, Joint Hedge Coordinator as well as
Sole Book Runner); KfW IPEX (Technical Bank and Markets Bank);
Natixis; Rabobank (Insurance Bank); SEB (KFW Applicant Bank); SMBC
and Société Générale (Documentation Bank and Joint Hedge
Coordinator).
Project Merkur was advised by Amsterdam Capital Partners
(financial and equity advisor), Deutsche Bank (debt advisor), Hogan
Lovells (legal advisor), EY (tax advisor), Marsh (insurance
advisor) and PMC (hedging). The lenders were advised by Clifford
Chance (legal), Sgurr (technical), JLT (insurance), Poÿrÿ
Management Consulting (market) and Operis (model). Finally, CMS,
Norton Rose Fulbright and Allen & Overy were legal advisors to
the equity sponsors.
About Merkur
Merkur is a construction-ready wind farm located in the German
exclusive economic zone approximately 45km north of the islands of
Borkum. In early 2015, DEME Concessions Wind took over the
development of the project from former developer Windreich and was
joined by GE later that year. Construction will be under a dual
contract structure with GE as supplier of 66 GE Haliade 150-6
megawatt wind turbine generators and GeoSea as turnkey contractor
for the entire balance of plant. Offshore foundations installation
is expected to commence in August 2017, with project completion
scheduled for March 2019. Once constructed, Merkur will benefit
from the German offshore feed-in-tariff.
About Partners Group
Partners Group is a global private markets investment management
firm with over EUR 49 billion (USD 55 billion) in investment
programs under management in private equity, private real estate,
private infrastructure and private debt. The firm manages a broad
range of customized portfolios for an international clientele of
institutional investors. Partners Group is headquartered in Zug,
Switzerland, and has offices in San Francisco, Denver, Houston, New
York, São Paulo, London, Guernsey, Paris, Luxembourg, Milan,
Munich, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo
and Sydney. The firm employs over 850 people and is listed on the
SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: PGHN) with a major ownership by its
partners and employees. www.partnersgroup.com
About InfraRed Capital Partners
InfraRed is a leading international investment manager focused
on infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from
offices in London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Seoul and Sydney.
With over 120 professionals it manages in excess of USD 9bn of
equity capital in multiple private and listed funds, primarily for
institutional investors across the globe. InfraRed has launched 15
funds, including two companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
(HICL and TRIG), six of which have been realised. To date, InfraRed
has developed over 70 infrastructure projects with an aggregate
capital expenditure of over US$25bn and manages over 160 projects
in social, transportation and energy infrastructure sectors.
www.ircp.com
About DEME
The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group
DEME is an international market leader for complex marine
engineering works.
Building on 140 years of experience and know-how, DEME has
organically moved into several related sectors, such as the
financing of marine engineering and environmental projects,
executing EPC related complex marine engineering projects including
civil engineering works, the development and construction of
renewable energy projects, providing services for the oil, gas and
energy sector, the decontaminating and recycling of polluted soils
and silts, the harvesting of marine resources, etc.
Thanks to an integrated company structure, DEME strongly emerges
as a 'global solutions provider' which offers its clients overall
solutions. DEME has the most modern, high-tech and versatile
fleet.
DEME Group has 4,600 employees worldwide and achieved a turnover
of 2.35 billion euros in 2015. More information:
www.deme-group.com
About GE Energy Financial Services
A strategic GE Capital business, GE Energy Financial Services is
a global energy investor that provides financial solutions that
help meet the world's energy needs. Drawing on its technical
know-how, financial strength and strong risk management, GE Energy
Financial Services invests in long-lived and capital intensive
projects and companies. The firm has 35+ years of experience
managing energy assets through multiple economic cycles, and a
global portfolio that spans conventional and renewable power, and
oil and gas infrastructure projects. The company is
headquartered in Stamford, CT with regional hubs in London,
Houston, Hong Kong and Nairobi. More information:
www.geenergyfinancialservices.com;
Twitter: @GEEnergyFinServ
About GE
GE (NYSE:GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company,
transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions
that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized
around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through
which each business shares and accesses the same technology,
markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels
innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With
people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes
for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160812005106/en/
Media:GE Energy Financial ServicesJaclyn Cole,
203-961-2934Jaclyn.Cole@ge.com
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