EFG-Hermes intends to play the role of initial public offering (IPO) underwriter for a 50% ratio of the capital of the agreement entered into by Vortex Company to acquire various solar power projects owned by Terra Form Power in the United Kingdom at a value of £470m.
EFG-Hermes will retain 5% of the value of the transaction similar to previous acquisitions held by Vortex.
Apart from the value of assets, there are commitments and bank debts for those assets estimated at about £300m, and Vortex intends to refinance those debts once meeting the deal’s completion requirements, which includes 24 solar power plants with a total capacity of 365 MW, according to a press release announced by Hermes on Friday.
Vortex Company is managed by EFG Hermes’s direct investment sector.
Karim Moussa, head of private equity at EFG-Hermes, said that 50% of the deal’s capital is financed by the Malaysian company Tenaga Nasional Berhad operating in the public services and utilities sector in Asia with a market capital worth roughly $17bn.
He added that the deal will lead to total investment growth for Vortex, which has been $1.4bn since 2014, including acquisitions of many new and renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 457 MW in the UK, France, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal.
Karim Awad, CEO of EFG-Hermes, emphasised that Hermes targets transforming Vortex from an emerging entity into one of the leading companies specialised in new and renewable energy projects on the European level, where its energy production capacity has exceeded 822 MW.
The company is scheduled to assign Lightsource Company, operating in the field of solar power plant development, as a technical partner for operation and management services. Lightsource will take over management of projects with a total capacity currently exceeding 1.3 GW.
