Thursday, Aug 23, 2007
LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bahrain's Arcapita Bank and its affiliates Thursday announced the sale of a 33% stake in the U.K.-based wind-farm firm Zephyr Investments in a deal valued at GBP145 million.
Arcapita said it will sell a one-third stake in Zephyr, a 391 megawatt portfolio of U.K. wind farms, to two investment funds: Infracapital Partners LP, the European focused infrastructure fund managed by Prudential M&G, a unit of Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) and an unnamed investment entity advised by JPMorgan Asset Management, a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM).
The deal marks the latest in a string of deals where investors have paid large premiums for European wind farms, in a bid to buy into stable and attractive revenues generated from European subsidies on renewable power generation.
Many European countries provide generous subsides for wind farm power generation in order to achieve their ambitious renewable-energy targets.
Arcapita Chief Executive Atif A. Abdulmalik, said the sale marks one of the bank's "most profitable investments to date."
Zephyr Investments comprise 17 wind farms in the U.K. which have a combined capacity equal to 20% of the installed U.K. wind power capacity, Arcapita said in a statement.
Each of the purchasers will buy half of Arcapita's stake in Zephyr. Both purchasers already own undisclosed stakes in Zephyr.
"The divestment of our interest in Zephyr after a three-year holding period will allow our investors to generate a substantial return on their original investment," Abdulmalik said.
Arcapita acquired the one-third stake in 2004 with its partner RWE npower, the U.K. arm of German utility RWE AG (RWE.XE). Arcapita wouldn't disclose its return on the investment.
-By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9328; alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
23-08-07 1552GMT
