Germany’s $1.8bn wind farm draws Swiss partners

Berlin / Bloomberg

The 1.6 billion-euro ($1.8 billion) Merkur offshore wind project in the German North Sea reached financial close with funding from European and US investors.
Switzerland-based Partners Group Holding AG invested 250 million euros for 50 percent of the project, according to a statement on Friday. InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd.’s Infrastructure Fund III committed took a 25 percent stake for 125 million euros. Belgium’s Dredging Environmental & Marine Engineering NV, General Electric Co. and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency also took stakes.
“With several coal-fired and nuclear power plants due to be retired across Germany by 2020, Merkur is a timely project and will contribute towards maintaining the country’s energy supply,” said Brandon Prater, co-head of private infrastructure at Partners Group. The 400-megawatt wind project is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) off the coast of Germany. It is expected to power 500,000 homes once complete.
“Offshore wind is a sector particularly aligned to infrastructure investors,” Stephane Kofman, a director at London-based InfraRed, said in a statement. “InfraRed is pursuing similar opportunities in Europe but will also continue systematic origination activities in core target geographies including North America and Australasia.”
Ten banks loaned 1.2 billion euros of senior secured debt, including KfW Mittelstandsbank, ABN Amro Bank NV, Commerzbank AG, Deutsche Bank AG, KfW IPEX Bank GmbH, Natixis SA, Cooperatieve Rabobank UA, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Societe Generale SA.