Atlantic Power Announces Closing of Ridgeline Acquisition and
Canadian Hills Achieving Commercial Operations
BOSTON, Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlantic Power
Corporation (NYSE: AT) (TSX: ATP) ("Atlantic Power" or the
"Company") announced that on December 31,
2012, it closed its previously announced acquisition of
Ridgeline Energy Holdings, Inc. ("Ridgeline"). Upon closing,
the maturity date of the Company's 6.00% series D extendible
convertible unsecured subordinated debentures (the "Debentures")
(TSX: ATP.DB.D) was automatically extended to December 31, 2019. The Company also
announced that the approximately 300 MW Canadian Hills Wind project
(the "Project" or "Canadian Hills") achieved its commercial
operation date ("COD"), and that the Company closed tax equity
funding for the Project and fully repaid the Project's $272 million construction loan. All figures
are in US$ unless stated otherwise.
"We are pleased to add 450 net MW of generating capacity to our
portfolio with the addition of Canadian Hills and Ridgeline, an
increase of 20%," said Barry Welch,
President and CEO of Atlantic Power. "The acquisition of
Ridgeline adds over 150 net MW of fully-operational wind generation
to our portfolio, and also positions us well for additional growth
in the renewable energy space, where we have had success managing
development and construction risk through to commercial
operation. We successfully accessed the capital markets in
2012, raising $300 million of growth
capital to fund acquisition opportunities and closing $225 million of tax equity funding to refinance
the short-term construction debt at our Canadian Hills wind
project. We expect the addition of the Canadian Hills and
Ridgeline projects in December 2012,
and the Piedmont project in the
first quarter of 2013, will increase the average remaining power
purchase agreement ('PPA') life of our portfolio by 38% from 7.2
years to approximately 9.9 years, as all five projects have PPAs of
20 years or longer."
Closing of Ridgeline Acquisition
"We are excited to add the significant renewable energy
experience of the Ridgeline team to Atlantic Power," said Mr.
Welch. "They successfully managed the development and
construction of the 120 MW Meadow Creek wind project, which met all
conditions for COD on December 22,
2012, and was delivered within budget and on schedule to
qualify for the federal stimulus grant program. We have
initiated the integration of the Ridgeline team into the Company,
and are focusing their efforts on near-term wind and solar
development projects in their pipeline as well as on assisting with
our renewable acquisitions opportunities."
The Ridgeline acquisition increases the Company's ownership
interest in the Rockland wind
project to a 50% managing member interest from 30%, and adds a
12.5% interest in the 125 MW Goshen North project in addition to a
100% equity interest in Meadow Creek. The total cost of the
Ridgeline acquisition was $88
million, and includes the purchase of all of the outstanding
shares of capital stock of Ridgeline and the 100% equity interest
in Meadow Creek. The purchase price for the acquisition
(together with working capital and acquisition expenses) was
financed through a firm underwritten public offering, on a bought
deal basis, of Cdn$100 million
aggregated principal amount of the Debentures. Upon the
closing of the acquisition, the maturity date of the Debentures was
automatically extended from March 31,
2013 to December 31, 2019 in
accordance with the terms of the Debentures. In addition, the
Company will consolidate approximately $205
million and $43 million of
existing non-recourse project-level debt at Meadow Creek and
Rockland, respectively, with
approximately $55 million of current
Meadow Creek debt to be repaid with a U.S. stimulus grant in the
first quarter of 2013.
Canadian Hills Wind Achieves Commercial Operation
The Company also announced today that Canadian Hills achieved
COD on December 22, 2012, which
qualifies the Project to receive federal production tax
credits. The Project received tax equity investments in
aggregate of $225 million from a
consortium of four institutional tax equity investors along with an
approximately $47 million tax equity
investment by the Company, which it expects to syndicate with
additional tax equity investors in the first quarter of 2013.
The Project's outstanding construction loan was repaid by these tax
equity investors, delevering the Project and Atlantic Power's
short-term debt by $272
million. The Company owns 99% of the Project having
made a $200 million capital
contribution in July 2012. Cash
distributions to the Company from the Project are expected to be in
the range of $16 to $19 million for
each full year of operation through 2020, and are expected to
increase thereafter.
"We are delighted to bring Canadian Hills to COD on time and
within budget, which represents our largest construction project to
date at approximately 300 MW and a cost of $470 million," said Mr. Welch. "Atlantic
Power's team played a significant role in bringing this large,
complex construction project to completion, further demonstrating
our ability to manage late-stage development projects through
financing and construction to completion. In addition,
Atlantic Power will oversee the ongoing operation of the Project
and will act as its asset manager. We expect that this experience,
coupled with the recently-acquired, seasoned Ridgeline team, will
continue to provide Atlantic Power with opportunities to
successfully grow its renewable energy portfolio in the
near-term."
About Atlantic Power
Atlantic Power is a leading publicly traded, power generation
and infrastructure company with a well-diversified portfolio of
assets in the United States and
Canada. The Company's corporate
strategy is to increase the value of the Company through accretive
acquisitions in North American markets while generating stable,
contracted cash flows from its existing assets. The Company's power
generation projects sell electricity to utilities and other large
commercial customers under long-term PPAs, which seek to minimize
exposure to changes in commodity prices. The net generating
capacity of the Company's projects is approximately 2,560 MW,
consisting of interests in 33 operational power generation projects
across 12 states and 2 provinces and also an 84-mile, 500 kilovolt
electric transmission line located in California. In addition, the Company has a 53
MW biomass project under construction in Georgia, which is expected to achieve COD in
the first quarter of 2013. Atlantic Power owns a majority interest
in Rollcast Energy, a biomass power plant developer in Charlotte,
NC. The Company also owns Ridgeline, a renewable development
company out of Seattle, WA with
approximately 1,000 MW of wind and solar projects under
development. Atlantic Power is incorporated in British Columbia, is headquartered in
Boston and has offices in
Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle and San
Diego.
Atlantic Power has a market capitalization of approximately
$1.3 billion and trades on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol AT and on the Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol ATP. For more information, please visit
the Company's website at www.atlanticpower.com or contact:
Atlantic Power Corporation
Amanda Wagemaker, Investor
Relations
(617) 977-2700
info@atlanticpower.com
Copies of financial data and other publicly filed documents get
filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml under "Atlantic Power Corporation" or on
the Company's website.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking
Statements
To the extent any statements made in this news release contain
information that is not historical, these statements are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
forward-looking information as defined under Canadian securities
law (collectively, "forward-looking statements").
Certain statements in this news release may constitute
"forward-looking statements", which reflect the expectations of
management regarding the acquisition of Ridgeline and the future
growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects
and opportunities of the Company and its projects and other
matters. These statements, which are based on certain
assumptions and describe the Company's future plans, strategies and
expectations, can generally be identified by the use of the words
"may," "will," "project," "continue," "believe," "intend,"
"anticipate," "expect" or similar expressions that are predictions
of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate
solely to present or historical matters. Examples of such
statements in this press release include, but are not limited, to
statements with respect to the following:
- the expectation that the addition of Canadian Hills,
Piedmont and Ridgeline, will
increase the Company's average remaining PPA life of its portfolio
by 38% from 7.2 years to approximately 9.9 years;
- the expectation that the Company will syndicate its
approximately $47 million tax equity
investment at Canadian Hills with additional tax equity investors
in the first quarter of 2013;
- the expectation that the Company will receive cash
distributions from Canadian Hills in the range of $16 to $19 million for each full year of
operation through 2020, and that distributions are expected to
increase thereafter; and
- the expectation that the Company's 53 MW biomass project under
construction in Georgia will
achieve COD in the first quarter of 2013.
Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and
uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future
performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate
indications of whether or not, or the times at or by which, such
performance or results will be achieved. A number of factors
could cause actual results to differ materially from the results
discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not
limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the
Company's periodic reports as filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission and applicable securities regulatory
authorities in Canada from time to
time. Although the forward-looking statements contained in
this news release are based upon what are believed to be reasonable
assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will
be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the
differences may be material. These forward-looking statements
are made as of the date of this news release and, except as
expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no
obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or
circumstances. The financial outlook information contained in
this news release is presented to provide readers with guidance on
the cash distributions expected to be received by the Company and
to give readers a better understanding of the Company's ability to
pay its current level of distributions into the future.
Readers are cautioned that such information may not be
appropriate for other purposes.
SOURCE Atlantic Power Corporation