A KKR-led consortium has signed a deal to acquire Hamburg-based wind and solar park operator Encavis AG. The €17.50 per share cash offer puts a total equity value of €2.8 billion (US$3.04 billion) on the German firm.
Goldman Sachs is acting as financial adviser to the Encavis management board, and Lazard as financial adviser to the supervisory board. CMS and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are acting as legal advisers to Encavis.
Elbe BidCo, a holding company controlled by investment funds advised and managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, has launched a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of Encavis, which is listed on the MDAX segment of Deutsche Boerse. Family company Viessmann GmbH will participate as co-investor.
The management and the supervisory boards of Encavis support the offer. BidCo has signed binding agreements with Abacon Capital and several existing shareholders, representing approximately 31% of the total share capital. As part of the deal, Abacon remains invested in Encavis via KKR-managed vehicles. Encavis will be delisted subject to the offer being successful.
"Over the past years, Encavis has grown into one of the leading independent power producers in Europe and has strong ambitions to further continue on this growth path," says Christoph Husmann, spokesman of the management board and chief financial officer of Encavis. "We are convinced that with the additional financial and strategic support, we will be able to leverage our assets and competencies and take our business to the next level to compete with the largest European players.”
Expansion plans
BidCo aims to accelerate growth in all segments of the Encavis Group and provide significant financial support to bolster its project pipeline, increasing capacity additions and facilitating expansion in new markets.
BidCo’s goal is to reach 7 gigawatts of installed capacity by the end of 2027, which is above the current target of 5.8 GW, with continued growth thereafter.
In January Encavis acquired six wind farms with a total generation capacity of 88 megawatts, of which 49 MW was already connected to the grid.
Four of the six wind farms were acquired by ABO Wind. A 30 MW wind farm in Finland, already connected to the grid, is expected to generate around 98 GWh of green electricity annually. It will be sold to a corporate offtaker via a pay-as-produced power purchase agreement with a term of 10 years from October 2024.
Three more wind farms in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate (around 27 MW in total) will also be connected to the grid this year. The sale of the annual electricity production of around 57 GWh is secured by an EEG feed-in tariff over a period of 20 years.
Another wind farm (around 19 MW) in Saxony, which is already connected to the grid, was acquired from UKA Group. The expected annual electricity production of around 50 GWh is also secured by an EEG feed-in tariff with a 20-year term.
Encavis also acquired a wind farm (12 MW) in Rhineland-Palatinate with an annual electricity production of around 23 GWh. It will shortly be connected to the grid. This park also has a guaranteed EEG feed-in tariff with a term of 20 years.
