Voltalia SA
Voltalia and STOA enter into exclusive negotiations for the sale of minority
stakes in two wind farms under construction in Brazil
18-Jun-2019 / 18:52 CET/CEST
Dissemination of a French Regulatory News, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
STOA, an investment fund specialized in infrastructure projects in
developing and emerging countries, and Voltalia (Euronext Paris, ISIN code:
FR0011995588), an international player in renewable energies, enter into
exclusive negotiations for Voltalia to sell 35% of the VSM 1 (163 MW) and
VSM 2 (128 MW) wind farms to STOA in Brazil.
"By choosing Voltalia as a partner for setting up in Latin America, we want
to benefit from 13 years of know-how in managing construction, operation and
maintenance of wind farms in Brazil. Brazil is a market were renewable
energy is, by far, the cheapest source of electricity. This represents a
huge pool of opportunities. Through this partnership, we will be able to
enter into this market with significant and performant assets for long-term
value creation for all stakeholders. This success also confirms our capacity
to originate and execute deals on a global scale", rejoices Charles-Henri
Malécot, CEO of STOA.
"Welcoming STOA, a top-tier French investment player, as one of our
long-term partners is a very pleasant perspective. This project of
partnership opens even larger growth prospects for Voltalia in Brazil while
creating value: it is a good illustration of our strategy aiming at
developing a large volume of competitive projects with the idea of
onboarding third-party investors, through partnerships or sales ", declares
Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia.
The project of partnership
The VSM 1 (163 MW) and VSM 2 (128 MW) wind farms, currently under
construction, are integral part of Voltalia's Serra Branca cluster in the
Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Featuring excellent wind conditions and entirely developed by Voltalia's
teams, the Serra Branca cluster is the largest in Latin America. Its total
potential is greater than 2.4 GW, of which 873 MW are currently either in
operation or in construction: 600 MW owned by the Group and 273 MW by
Echoenergia, a subsidiary of international investor Actis[1]. Rapid
expansion of the Serra Branca cluster is facilitated by the power
transmission lines developed, built and owned by Voltalia which are used to
connect the cluster to the Brazilian national grid.
The 100% sale of ready-to-build projects by Voltalia (as for
Echoenergia-Actis) or the sale of minority stakes to investors (as for STOA)
are part of Voltalia's services strategy to develop large volumes of very
competitive projects, in order to keep some while selling others to
financial partners or utilities. To date, Voltalia has developed and sold a
total of 1,4 GW around the world, in addition to the 1GW portfolio developed
and kept by the Group[2].
This sale of a minority stake, if confirmed, will have no impact on
Voltalia's P&L, in accordance with IFRS rules, since Voltalia intends to
retain control of the VSM 1 and VSM 2 plants. Voltalia's capital gain as
part of the transaction will be recognized directly in the Group's equity.
The transaction should be finalized during Summer 2019.
This first project for STOA in Latin America follows previous investments
closed notably in South Africa, Cameroon and in India. For STOA which has
already committed EUR160 million in less than two years in Africa and in
India, this partnership with Voltalia contributes to the portfolio's
geographical diversification beyond the priority given to the African
continent, as wished by both co-shareholders. After the dam project of
Nachtigal in Cameroon finalized in December 2018, these two Brazilian wind
farms represent a strong commitment in favour of renewables in developing
countries, one of STOA's targeted sectors.
About STOA
STOA is a joint stock company (société anonyme) with an initial share
capital of EUR 120 million, 83.3% owned by Caisse des Dépôts ("CDC") and
16.7% owned by Agence Française de Développement ("AFD"), the object of
which is to invest up to EUR 600 million in equity and quasi equity in the
infrastructure and power sectors of developing and emerging countries. STOA
benefits from the complementary support and expertise of its two
shareholders. Caisse des Dépôts is a public long-term investor serving the
general interest and economic development of local areas; AFD is the French
Public Development Bank which commits to financing projects in key
transition sectors in developing and emerging countries. In the context of
their joint strategy, these two institutions are fully committed to play a
key role in the four major transitions, the energy/environmental, digital,
territorial and demographic transitions.
About Voltalia
Voltalia is an international player in the renewable energy sector. The
Company produces and sells electricity generated from wind, solar, hydro,
biomass and storage facilities, with a total capacity of 1 GW either in
operation or construction. Voltalia is also a service provider, assisting
its investor clients active in renewables at each project stages, from
conception to operation and maintenance.
With 591 employees in 18 countries over 4 continents, Voltalia is able to
act worldwide on behalf of its clients.
Voltalia is a key player in Brazil with an excellent track record. The local
team developed since 2006 a large pipeline o projects including:
· 724 MW in operation or under construction within the clusters Serra
Branca (wind), Sao Miguel do Gostoso (wind) and Oiapoque (hybrid diesel
and solar;
· 3.3 GW of projects under development[3], mainly located I the states of
Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia for solar and wind projects.
Voltalia has been listed on the Euronext regulated market in Paris since
July 2014 (FR0011995588 - VLTSA) and is a component stock of the Enternext
Tech 40 index and the CAC Mid&Small index. The Group is also included in the
Gaïa-Index, an index for socially responsible midcaps.
Voltalia (www.voltalia.com)
Chief Administrative Officer: Marie de Lauzon
Investor Relations: invest@voltalia.com
+33 (0)1 81 70 37 00
STOA (www.stoainfraenergy.com)
Press contact: Anne Vallé
secretariat.stoa@stoainfraenergy.com
+33 (0)1 58 50 13 71
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[1] within a partnership of up to 500 MW (see Voltalia's Press Release dated
September 11, 2018)
[2] see Voltalia's press release dated form June 13, 2019
[3] Projects that will be owned by Voltalia or sold to third-party clients
Regulatory filing PDF file
Document title: pdf-VEN
Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=GUFKONEULF [1]
Language: English
Company: Voltalia SA
84 boulevard de Sébastopol
75003 Paris
France
E-mail: invest@voltalia.com
Internet: www.voltalia.com
ISIN: FR0011995588
Euronext Ticker: VLTSA
AMF Category: Inside information / Other releases
EQS News ID: 826929
End of Announcement EQS News Service
826929 18-Jun-2019 CET/CEST
1: https://link.cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=d3ea6c3b9b5d06461e3840e6c81c8049&application_id=826929&site_id=vwd&application_name=news
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2019 12:53 ET (16:53 GMT)
