Author: Nicolas Lavrov

London, Luxembourg: Quercus Assets Selection and Swiss Life Asset Managers announce the successful completion of the deal to acquire Antin Solar Investments (“ASI”) in a 50:50 joint venture. ASI now operates as Azienda Solare Italiana Spa. On 18 December 2015 the joint venture, called Quercus Swiss Life Italian Solar Srl, had entered into a binding agreement with Antin Infrastructure Partners to acquire a 100% stake in ASI.

Founded in 2011, ASI has become a leading photovoltaic (“PV”) investment platform in Italy. The portfolio today consists of nine plants with a total installed capacity of 77.1 MW, and is the fifth largest operator in Italy in terms of solar power generation. ASI’s facilities are located in Lazio, Sicily and Puglia, which are among the regions with the highest irradiation in Europe.

This deal represents an important landmark for both firms engaged in the joint venture. Quercus’ total European portfolio now exceeds 266 MW, and the combination of the Italian assets of Quercus and ASI represents the third largest photovoltaic operator in Italy in terms of installed capacity. Moreover, this deal increases the European presence of Swiss Life Asset Managers’ first managed fund while diversifying its renewable portfolio currently comprised of solar assets in Canada and wind farms in the US and the UK.

Diego Biasi, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quercus said: “We are very proud to have partnered with a valuable operator like Swiss Life Asset Managers on this landmark deal for Quercus. Azienda Solare Italiana is one of the best portfolios on the Italian market, and it provides a major platform from which we can capture further growth opportunities in a highly fragmented Italian market.”

Chris Manser, Head of Infrastructure Investments at Swiss Life Asset Managers comments: “The acquisition of ASI is an excellent addition to our global portfolio of infrastructure assets and provides us with a platform to capture the consolidation opportunity in the Italian PV market. Given Swiss Life Asset Managers’ strategy of minority investments we are very happy to have found in Quercus a likeminded partner to share this deal on a 50:50 basis.”

Umberto Tamburrino, CEO of Azienda Solare Italiana, commented: “We are delighted to have two new partners who share our vision for the future of renewable energy and are very committed to making ASI one of the reference operators in the process of consolidation in the Italian market.”

 

 

Quercus announces the launch of the Quercus Italian PV fund and the Quercus Italian Wind funds that will complement the recently launched Quercus European Renewables fund to raise a combined EUR 500 million.

Quercus Assets Selection, which specializes in infrastructure investments with a focus on renewable energy, announces that it has officially launched two new renewable energy infrastructure funds, bringing the total number of funds in its portfolio to five.

The new funds will have a long-term investment horizon of a minimum of 10 years and a targeted Internal Rate of Return (IRR) per annum of 8-10%, rising to 9-11% in the case of Quercus Italian Wind fund.

Investment in renewable infrastructure provides stable, long-term returns with a low risk profile that generates sustainable and predictable cash flows de-correlated from the fluctuations of financial markets. The funds therefore represent an ideal investment for long-term institutional investors, whose investment style is characterized by risk aversion and the need for capital protection.

The three new Quercus funds facilitate participation in an attractive renewable energy marketplace that continues to offer significant investment opportunities. It is estimated that the proportion of global electricity generated from renewable sources will double in the next 25 years, reaching 46% of all electricity produced worldwide in 2040 compared to 23% today.

In this global scenario, the Italian market is particularly attractive, given its stable policy with regard to incentives and its focus on renewable sources which are given grid priority. The Italian market is the fourth largest in the world for installed PV capacity (18.3 GW) and 9th for wind power (8.7 GW). The high degree of asset fragmentation in this large market presents significant opportunities for consolidation for players capable of financing, sourcing and executing on such opportunities.

Diego Biasi, co-founder and CEO of Quercus commented: “We look forward to further building on our established track record through the launch of these two new funds. In addition to generating attractive returns that are unaffected by the fluctuations of financial markets, these projects provide capital protection as well as stable, long-term cash flows. “Quercus funds are therefore an ideal investment for pension funds, foundations, banks, and qualified investors. Our knowledge of the market and track record means that we can rapidly source and identify the best opportunities in order to optimize the asset allocation of the portfolio.”

London, Luxembourg: As part of a competitive bidding process, Quercus Assets Selection has successfully bid for Antin Solar Investments (“ASI” or “the Company”) and its Italian photovoltaic (“PV”) portfolio (“the Portfolio”), headed by the French infrastructure fund Antin Infrastructure Partners.

The bidding, which was conducted by a 50:50 consortium consisting of Quercus Assets Selection and Swiss Life Asset Managers (“the Consortium”), increases Quercus’ renewable energy portfolio to 266.5 MW. Established in 2011, the ASI portfolio consists of nine plants with a total capacity of 77.1 MW, and the Company is the fifth largest operator in Italy in terms of solar power generation. The plants are located in Lazio, Sicily and Puglia, all of which are among the most irradiant regions in Europe.

The Portfolio, which has an enterprise value of 310 million euros, will be acquired through a new vehicle called Quercus Swiss Life Italian Solar srl. The Consortium’s decision to acquire the Portfolio reflects the high quality nature of the assets, and follows an evaluation of ASI’s proven ability to deliver robust returns for its shareholders.

Diego Biasi, co-founder and CEO of Quercus commented: “We are very proud to have emerged as the winning bidder in the highly competitive tender process for ASI, one of the best platforms available in the Italian market”. Biasi added: “The acquisition of ASI is a strong signal of intent from Quercus and it cements our position as one of the top PV players in Italy. The deal provides an excellent platform to capture additional growth opportunities as the PV market in Italy continues to consolidate. Italy has a very stable incentive policy and a focus on renewable sources that provide renewables with grid priority. It is therefore a very attractive market and Quercus will actively seek to further its involvement in the Italian market with equally ambitious deals that will also involve the wind sector.”

Chris Manser, Head of Infrastructure Investments at Swiss Life Asset Managers commented: “The acquisition of ASI is an excellent addition to our global portfolio of infrastructure assets and provides us with a platform to capture the consolidation opportunity in the Italian PV market. Given Swiss Life Asset Managers’ strategy of minority investments we are very happy to have found in Quercus a likeminded partner to share this deal on a 50/50 basis.

Umberto Tamburrino, CEO of ASI commented: “Quercus’ diversified geographical presence in other European PV markets (e.g. UK and Eastern Europe), will perfectly complement ASI’s strong Italian footprint, and combined, we expect to emerge as a leading player in the European renewables market”

The transaction is expected to complete during the first quarter of 2016.

In addition to utilizing capital provided by investors and partners, the deal was also financed through a credit line provided by UBI, with Studio Borghesi and Associates acting as Quercus’ financial advisor.

Ashurst acted as consortium’s legal advisors.

The planned launch of Quercus Italian PV fund and the Quercus Italian Wind fund will complement the recently launched Quercus European Renewables fund to raise a combined EUR 500 million, providing significant investment opportunities in a strong renewables market.

London, Luxembourg – Quercus Assets Selection, which specializes in infrastructure investments with a focus on renewable energy, announces that it will launch two new renewable energy infrastructure funds, bringing the total number of funds in its portfolio to five.

The launch of the two new funds will complement the recently launched Quercus European Renewables fund to maximize the portfolio’s risk/return profile through a meticulous strategy of diversification.

Quercus is looking to raise a minimum combined target of €500 million across the three funds, which is to be invested in connected wind and solar plants in Italy, as well as in other renewable technologies throughout Europe.

Vito Gamberale, Chairman of Quercus commented:  “Today, Italian renewables play a key role that I define with 3Ps: Predominant, Prevalent and Preferential. The Italian market remains extremely fragmented and presents significant opportunity for consolidation. Quercus is looking to capitalize on this opportunity to become a medium to large-scale operator of renewable energy plants in Italy. Our strategy is clear, our goals are achievable and I look forward to contributing to the success of our new funds at Quercus.”

Grid connection sees Quercus’ total UK grid contribution of PV solar plants increase to more than 65 MW

London, Luxembourg – Quercus Assets Selection which specialises in infrastructure investments with a focus on renewable energy, announces that it has completed construction and connection of three additional UK PV solar plants, in Stratford Upon Avon, in Swindon and in Sidlesham, Chichester to the UK power grid.

Quercus completed the acquisition of the three greenfield projects in December 2014, and having constructed the plants, the Company connected the third plant on March 27th. Together, the three plants are contributing a combined peak power capacity of 20.4 MW to the UK power grid. The plants generate sufficient power to supply nearly 4,000 homes per year and are expected to offset more than 9,160 tons of annual carbon-dioxide emissions.

The first of the three power plants, which were all commissioned in March, is at Burton Solar Farm near Stratford Upon Avon and generates peak power of 4.4 MW. The second plant is Stanton Solar Farm, located in Stanton Fitzwarren, Swindon generating peak power of 5 MW. The third plant, connected last week, is at Sidlesham near Chichester and generates 11MW of power.

Diego Biasi, co-founder of Quercus commented: “Quercus is a leading investor in utility scale renewable energy plants and these additional plants take our participation in the UK PV market to more than 65 MW. Quercus entered the UK solar energy industry in November 2013 and we are delighted to increase our participation in the market, where assets are highly coveted by our investors due to their ability to generate attractive long term returns thanks to a very stable market and regulatory backdrop. We are developing our existing pipeline of PV projects in the UK, to increase our participation in this attractive market.”

The transaction, implemented through the Quercus Renewable Energy Fund II, marks the official entry to the UK photovoltaic market for Quercus.

The Quercus Renewable Energy Fund II, a segment of Quercus Assets Selection, a company which specialises in infrastructure investments with a focus on renewable energies, has completed the acquisition of a 14MW photovoltaic project in Cornwall, which is expected to be connected to the national grid by the end of March 2014.

After the successful biomass investment with the UK Green Investment Bank in the anaerobic digestion plant in London concluded recently, Quercus begins its official entry into the competitive UK photovoltaic market, in which the company expects to be highly active for at least in the next 18 months, the period defined for the incentive structure. Quercus is currently carrying out due diligence for a photovoltaic project pipeline totalling around 150 MW in the United Kingdom, which constitutes the first part of an overall portfolio estimating growth to 300 MW by the end of March 2015.

Despite a climate that differs from Southern Europe, Great Britain offers interesting investment opportunities, supported first and foremost by a stable and highly efficient market and a particularly low country risk. This allows an easy understanding of the exceptionally simplified regulatory system and a predictable evolution of the incentives structure, essential ingredients for optimising investment planning. All of this is accompanied by, among other things, relatively low banking rates, a good incentive structure for the investor and highly competitive procurement costs for goods and services, also due to the adjustment of supply to sector dynamics.

Diego Biasi, Managing Partner of Quercus said: “the fund is pursuing its investment activity in Europe in line with the initial plan communicated to investors. Investments in the United Kingdom began this year as soon as the local incentives policy was defined by the Government. The UK photovoltaic industry is more than ever a representative asset of the portfolio coveted by our investors due to the high stability of long-term returns, non-correlation to the financial and real estate markets, the ability to maintain a generally steady cash flow during the investment, essential elements for pension funds, banking foundations, insurance companies and other institutional investors who constitute almost our entire investor base.”

The plant of  24MW was sold by  Talesun Solared and  is one of the ten largest solar plants in Italy

Quercus Renewable Energy Fund, compartment of Quercus Assets Selection, a company specializing in infrastructure investments with a focus in renewable energy, has completed through the ForVEI Joint Venture, the acquisition of the 24MW photovoltaic plant, `Calabria Solar`  from Talesun Solar Switzerland AG (“Talesun”), a Swiss subsidiary of Zonghli Talesun Solar Co Ltd, the leading Chinese solar panel manufacturer. Calabria Solar is one of the ten largest solar plants in Italy and the operation’s value amounts to € 52,5 million.

ForVEI is a joint venture comprising Quercus Renewable Energy, VEI Capital, CDC Infrastructure, Foresight Solar VCT and Adenium Solar Energy. ForVEI operates in the Private Equity as well as in the infrastructure and energy sectors.

Despite the continuing economic challenges across Europe in the past 24 months (2011-2012), Italy has continued to be one of the most effective markets in the world in solar energy with an additional 13GW of PV Plants connected to the grid according to the GSE, ( Italian Power Controller). This is equal to the amount of PV energy connected in Germany over the same period. Italy now has a total of 17GW of installed PV power making it the second largest country for installed capacity worldwide.

This acquisition follows ForVEI’s innovative lease-back financing acquisition of the OPDE portfolio in 2011, which at that time represented the largest lease financing of PV plants arranged by a single bank in Italy.

Diego Biasi, Managing Partner of Quercus: “We are very satisfied at completing this significant acquisition, which permitted us to acquire one of the largest Italian photovoltaic plants and added important value to ForVEI’s portfolio for a future potential exit from the investment”.

Federico Giannandrea, director of ForVEI adds: “We are very satisfied at completing the significant acquisition of Calabria Solar to enhance ForVEI’s portfolio of Solar PV Assets. Thanks to this operation, ForVEI now handles a portfolio of over 54MW with a medium average annual return in the teens. The successful completion of the acquisition demonstrates that there remains interest for lenders in quality projects sponsored by high level investors, despite continuing pressure on markets”.

The operation, in line with the strategy of Quercus Renewable Energy Fund, aimed to release equity to take advantage of further business opportunities.

Quercus Assets Selection (Quercus), a company specializing in infrastructure investments with a focus in renewable energy, announces the 90% liquidation of the photovoltaic plant  ‘Marsolar Srl’ to Polis Fondi Sgr (Polis) for a value of € 6.570.000. The 7.8MW photovoltaic plant situated in Borgo Faiti (Latina, Italy) is sold by Quercus Renewable Energy (QRE), the first compartment of the Luxembourg Quercus SICAV-SIF approved by the CSSF. The compartment, launched in 2010, is dedicated to the selection of the best investment opportunities within the Italian photovoltaic energy sector. The plant, connected in August 2011, has produced more energy than forecasted in the original business plan (circa +6.5% MWh in 2012), providing a significant contribution to the positive results obtained by QRE fund. It is estimated that in 2012, Marsolar had met the electricity needs of circa 4,000 inhabitants while saving over 10,000 tons of CO2. The sale is in line with the strategy of the Fund.

Simone Borla, Managing Partner of Quercus: “This operation is proof of our capabilities to create value despite this difficult financial market period. It proves the solidity of this type of investment and is the reason why institutional investors are increasing their attention in the renewable energy investment sector. These assets offer a positive cash flow and typically, a lower risk than the sovereign of the countries where the plants are located. This peculiarity makes these assets more profitable than government securities and therefore an important resource for pension funds, insurance companies and endowments’ portfolio asset allocation.”

After the investment in a 14MWs photovoltaic project in Cornwall, Quercus continues to strengthen its presence in the UK market.

Quercus Assets Selection, a company which specialises in infrastructure investments with a focus on renewable energy, announces a new deal with Progressum – an engineering firm based in London specialising in UK photovoltaic – to acquire an important pipeline of projects to be constructed during 2014.

The construction of the photovoltaic plants will be assigned to Bester Generacion, who has collaborated with Quercus for the preceding few years in various countries in constructing photovoltaic and wind projects. The plants, once built, will form part of Quercus Renewable Energy Fund II, one of the funds managed by Quercus Assets Selection.

Diego Biasi, Founding Partner of Quercus, has commented on this acquisition by saying, ”With this further investment in UK photovoltaic projects, we underline our strong interest in the market. We also might provide our current and prospective investors, European and other, who are interested in taking exposure to the UK market, one of the most coveted for investments in renewable energy, with an opportunity for bespoke solutions due to the prospective and stabilised nature that this market will offer now and in the long run”.

 

The “Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier” (CSSF), the Luxembourg supervisory authority, has recently given the green light to the management buyout of Quercus Assets Selection (Quercus). The deal, which was recently agreed and formalized, consists of the repurchase of 60% the shares in Quercus, which are now held by the holding company Finpiave Spa, a shareholder of Stefanel Group listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. The deal will therefore recompose 100% of the control of Quercus into the hands of the founding partners, making Simone Borla and Diego Biasi joint shareholders in Quercus, with 50% each.

Giuseppe Stefanel, who provided the initial seed capital for the launch of the funds, will remain a major investor in the Quercus funds. The management company, founded in 2011 on the initiative of the three partners, has successfully raised capital from institutional investors such as insurance companies, Italian banks, foreign banks and pension funds, which has allowed it to launch two closed-end funds focused on investing in renewable energy infrastructure, the core business of the company.

Diego Biasi and Simone Borla, joint partners of Quercus Assets Selection SCA SICAV-SIF, said: “We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to receive the assistance of Finpiave SpA during the launch of the company: our partnership has enabled us to achieve excellent results. This has allowed us to benefit from the experience and strength of an industrial group with an undisputed track record.”

Federico Franzina, who acted as a manager on behalf of Finpiave will be replaced by Marco Claus, (Director General of FIA Asset Management S.A.) who has extensive experience with both Banca Sella Group, as head of the Luxembourg branch, and Banco Desio.