Taaleri Oyj: Taaleri acquires an interest in the 158 MW Cibuk wind farm in Serbia

Helsinki, 2017-11-28 13:43 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

TAALERI PLC                                 PRESS RELEASE                      
     28 NOVEMBER 2017 

Taaleri acquires an interest in the 158 MW Cibuk wind farm in Serbia

Taaleri Group is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Cibuk
Wind Holding regarding the acquisition of a minority interest in the
under-construction Cibuk 1 wind farm, the largest wind project in Serbia to
date. The 158 MW wind farm will consist of 57 GE turbines and produce up to 475
GWh of power per year. 

The transaction will provide Taaleri with a 30 percent ownership stake in the
Cibuk project company. Taaleri will enter the company via an investment vehicle
that pools funds from Taaleri Aurinkotuuli, a Taaleri Group managed investment
fund, and Finnfund, a Finnish state-owned development financier. The
transaction is expected to close by 2017 year-end, with the wind farm reaching
full operations in 2019. The project is estimated to decrease greenhouse gas
emissions by 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. 

Taaleri will participate in the construction and operation of the wind park
alongside the majority shareholder Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), a
renewable energy company owned by Mubadala Investment Company. 

"We are delighted to have Taaleri Group join the consortium developing Cibuk 1,
the largest utility-scale wind farm in Serbia on completion," said Yousif Al
Ali, Chairman of Tesla Wind, owner of the project company responsible for Cibuk
1. "Taaleri will bring considerable experience and expertise to the realisation
of this landmark project." 

"Taaleri is proud to invest alongside Masdar in one of the most significant
renewable energy projects in Serbia," said Taaleri Energia Managing Director,
Kai Rintala. "From the very beginning, Taaleri has been extremely impressed
with the quality of the Cibuk wind project. As the second-largest wind power
producer in Finland, we intend to contribute to this project's success, thanks
to our experience with building and operating several wind power plants in
challenging climatic environments, and through our ability to drive value for
all stakeholders, via the careful management of our projects' operational
performance." 

"We are very pleased to invest in this project which fulfils our strategic
objective to invest in renewable energy and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Together with a Finnish fund, Taaleri Aurinkotuuli, we are promoting one of the
first Serbian wind projects, and are very happy to participate in Taaleri's
expansion in the international renewable energy market," said Jaakko
Kangasniemi, Finnfund's Managing Director. 

Taaleri Plc
Communications

Additional information:

Kai Rintala, Managing Director, Taaleri Energy, tel. [phone],
[e-mail] 
Jenny-Li Holmström, Portfolio Manager, Taaleri Private Equity Funds, tel. +358
40 086 8615, [e-mail] 

About Taaleri Group

The Taaleri Group of companies is active in Wealth Management, Financing, and
Energy Infrastructure. Taaleri has more than 5 billion EUR of assets under
management. The ultimate parent company of the group, Taaleri plc, is a
publicly-listed Finnish financial institution on Helsinki Nasdaq.
www.taaleri.com/en 

About Taaleri Energia

Taaleri Energia is an energy infrastructure developer and investor, managing
energy infrastructure assets over their entire lifecycle. Taaleri Energia is,
at the moment, constructing or operating a total of approximately 312 MW of
wind power capacity in Finland, making it the second largest wind operator in
its home market. 

About Taaleri Aurinkotuuli

Taaleri Aurinkotuuli is an investment fund focused on investing in renewable
energy projects and assets managed by Taaleri Private Equity Funds. Taaleri
Aurinkotuuli is primarily aimed at construction and operational phase wind and
solar projects across a selection of geographical markets, including Eastern
Europe. 

About Finnfund

Finnfund (Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd) is a Finnish development
finance institution, aiming to foster sustainable development by providing
long-term risk capital for private projects in developing countries. Investment
criteria include profitability, sustainability and positive development
impacts. Since 1980 Finnfund has made nearly 370 investments in almost 70
countries. Currently, Finnfund has approximately 613 million euros invested in
or committed to 167 projects in 34 countries. For more information, please
visit www.finnfund.fi 

About Cibuk Wind Holding

Cibuk Wind Holdings is a company ultimately held by Fabrizio Gagnasso, a
founding partner of Continental Wind Partners, the original developer of the
Cibuk project. Continental Wind Partners are best known for developing the
largest operational onshore wind farm in Europe, the 600 MW Fantanele/Cogealac
project in Romania. 

About Masdar

Masdar is Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company which works to advance the
development, commercialisation and deployment of clean energy technologies and
solutions. The company serves as a link between today's fossil fuel economy and
the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Investment
Company, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi,
Masdar is dedicated to the United Arab Emirates' long-term vision for the
future of energy and water. 


         Taneli Hassinen, Head of Communications and IR, tel. [phone],
[e-mail]