Terra Firma buys Italian Solar Plant Owner Rete Rinnovabile cheaply for over $900 Million – Third Huge Renewable Energy Asset Acquisition

Terra Firma,the multi billion pound Private Equity firm has continued its Renewable Energy Asset Buying Spree spending a monstrous 641 millino Euros to buy Rete Rinnovabile a solar plant owner and operator in Italy.The acquired company is a susdiary of Italian market grid operator Terna and owns around 150 MW solar capacity in Italy which witnessed a massive solar boom in 2010.The acquisition values 1 MW at 4.5 Euros which would be considered not an expensive price given the large returns availabe for Italian solar power assets which gets a generous government mandated feed in tariff.The solar power plants are well located near distribution end points which is not a surprise since the company was a subsidiary of the grid power operator.

Note Terra Firma has been acquiring a major renewable energy asset company each year since 2009 when it bought a US Wind Farm Operator Everpower for $350 million and UK LandFill Gas Owner and Operator Infinis Power in 2010.The acquisition is the largest in the solar plant ownership segment and the biggest solar M&A Deal in Europe.Terra Firma plans to further buy more solar plant operators in Italy which is the most attractive solar market in the world currently.Terra Firma is funding the acquisition with a mix of debt and equity with debt forming a larger part than equity.Note this deal gives Terra Firma a major share of the renewable energy asset market in key markets like Italy,UK and USA

Terra Firma Completes Europe’s Most Expensive Solar Acquisition

Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., a U.K. private equity firm, purchased Rete Rinnovabile Srl for 641 million euros ($909.8 million), the most expensive acquisition of a solar company in Europe.

Rete was a unit of Italy’s national power-grid operator Terna SpA, which received net proceeds of 204 million euros from the sale, it said today in a statement. Rete Rinnovabile owns 62 solar photovoltaic plants in 11 regions in Italy.

The deal was first announced in October and was funded by debt and equity, according to Terra Firma. The Guernsey, Channel Islands-based company said the deal was the biggest to date for a solar power generator in Europe.