FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dutch pension fund APG and Britain's Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) (L:TRIG) agreed to buy offshore wind farm Merkur, the asset's biggest shareholder, Switzerland's Partners Group (S:PGHN), said on Tuesday.
The 396 megawatt project, located in the German North Sea, benefits from a guaranteed feed-in tariff until 2033 and has a 10-year operation and maintenance agreement with General Electric (N:GE), Partners Group said in a statement.
Sources had told Reuters late on Monday that the deal was imminent and that it would give the farm an enterprise value of about 2 billion euros (1.72 billion pounds). Partners Group did not disclose the value of the transaction.
"Renewable energy not only continues to be a transformative trend within the infrastructure asset class and an important component of Europe's future energy security, but it is also a key focus of Partners Group's infrastructure investment strategy," said David Daum, senior vice president at Partners Group.
Merkur, which can supply half a million households with electricity, was acquired in 2016 by a consortium led by Partners Group. Co-investors include investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners, Belgium's DEME Group, General Electric and the French Environment & Energy Management Agency (ADEME).
The consortium was advised by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Merrill Lynch on the sale, which includes APG buying a 64% stake in Merkur, while TRIG will acquire 36%.
TRIG, in a separate statement, said it would sell about 11% to minority co-investors managed by InfraRed once the deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020, leaving it with about a quarter.