TODAY’S STUDY: THE WIND BUSINESS, Q3 2011

Wind Funding and M&A, Q3 2011 Report; Funding and merger & acquisition activity for the Wind sector
October 2011 (Mercom Capital Group)

Introduction

The wind sector had a very strong quarter for venture capital (VC) funding in Q3 2011 with $284 million raised in seven deals in comparison to $64 million in three deals in Q2 2011. The major deal in the quarter was Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm’s announcement to invest $202 million in ReNew Wind Power.

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Over $4.1 billion went into project funding in Q3 2011 in 12 deals, which included a $1.5 billion loan to Global Tech I offshore wind, $1.1 billion financing for the WindMW’s Meerwind wind farm and $410 million for Meridian Energy’s Macarthur wind farm.

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VC Funding

VC funding in Q3 2011 came to $284 million in seven deals. In comparison, VC funding in Q2 2011 was only $64 million.

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Large-Scale Project Funding

Large-scale project funding announcements in Q3 2011 totaled $4.1 billion in 12 deals which was higher than the $2.3 billion in project funding in Q2 2011…

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Top large-scale project funding deals in Q3 2011 included a $1.5 billion loan to Global Tech I Offshore Wind, $1.2 billion financing received by WindMW for Meerwind wind farm and a $410 million syndicated loan to Meridian Energy’s Macarthur wind farm. Thirty-five different investors and financial institutions participated in these 12 transactions. IFC and EBRD were the most active investors.

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Most of the large-scale project funding activity was in Germany followed by Australia and Denmark…

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Debt Funding

M&A was slightly up in Q3 2011 compared to the previous quarter with $744 million in four transactions.

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The acquisition announcement of Hansen Transmissions by ZF Friedrichshafen for $724 million accounted for most of the activity…

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Project M&A

Project M&A activity in the wind sector in Q3 2011 amounted to $1.4 billion in 14 transactions. A major transaction in this quarter was the acquisition of 11 wind farms from Auxiliar de Construccion y Servicios (ACS) by Bridgepoint for $850 million…

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