German renewable energy developer MaxSolar agrees €410 million landmark financing facility to install 2 GW of solar and co-located storage projects in the next 5 years
- Facility enables MaxSolar to continue on its growth path and crystallise its ambition to be a large independent power producer of renewable electricity in the German market
- Latest financing will provide the means to further develop and expand the company’s current 6.5 GW solar project pipeline
Traunstein, Germany, 14 July 2023. MaxSolar GmbH is announcing today the execution of a €410 million debt finance facility with top-tier global institutional investors Infranity, I Squared Capital, and Rivage Investment. The financing facility comprises an initial committed tranche of €165 million and includes a second tranche that will expand the size of the facility by an additional €245 million. The financing is expected to accelerate MaxSolar’s ambition to be a large independent power producer of renewable electricity. The company aims to construct 2 GW of solar PV and co-located storage projects from its project pipeline of approximately 6.5 GW over the next five years.
The proceeds from this facility, together with project-level senior financing, will be used to support capital investments in solar PV and co-located storage projects. Furthermore, the facility offers the flexibility to deploy capital towards inorganic growth opportunities and project development expenditures. It will also facilitate the expansion of MaxSolar's project development capabilities, including the recruitment of new international and local talent across its five locations in Germany.
Christoph Strasser, CEO of MaxSolar, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with like-minded partners who share our vision of accelerating Europe’s energy transition. The financing facility will play a significant role in enabling our next growth phase by helping us materially scale our offering. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to our exceptional team, whose dedication and remarkable spirit have made this financing facility possible.”
Stefan Rattensperger, Investment Executive Director at Infranity, added, “MaxSolar has grown rapidly in recent years. We are proud to support a leading developer and highly innovative company that shares our common values and strategic views of a green energy transition through its future growth path.”
David Rosenblum, Infrastructure Credit Fund Partner at I Squared Capital, added, "We firmly believe in MaxSolar's ambitious drive towards energy transition. As dedicated partners, we are excited to play a role in their journey and contribute to their continued success in shaping a sustainable future.”
Stéphanie Charlet, Investment Director at Rivage Investment, said, “Our investment strategy is increasingly focused on making a positive impact on countering climate change. MaxSolar's vision is completely aligned with ours, making our partnership an ideal match to our sustainable investment policy and contribute to a successful energy transition.”
Jérôme Turcotte Routhier, Managing Partner of shareholder Nature Infrastructure Capital, said, “MaxSolar is rapidly becoming one of Germany’s leading renewables project developer and EPC service providers for solar PV and co-located systems. Securing €410m in non-dilutive financing from highly reputable and sophisticated partners further underpins the company’s strategy to build a substantial clean and affordable electricity generation portfolio for communities and citizens across Germany.”
João Manso Neto, CEO of shareholder Greenvolt, added, “This milestone not only advances the European energy transition but also promotes energy independence. The availability of affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is crucial for our goals, and as shareholders, we are delighted that this financing ensures we have the necessary funds to support the realization of MaxSolar's projects.”
Akereos Capital acted as debt adviser to Max Solar who were also advised by Reed Smith (legal). The lenders were advised by Watson Farley & Williams (legal).
About I Squared Capital
I Squared Capital is an independent global infrastructure manager focused on investing in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has more than 220 professionals across its offices in Miami, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Taipei, and Sydney. I Squared Capital has invested in a diverse portfolio of 77 companies in 59 countries with over 31,000 employees across the utilities, energy, digital infrastructure, transport, environmental infrastructure, and social infrastructure sectors providing essential services to millions of people around the world.
https://www.isquaredcapital.com/
About Infranity
Infranity is an asset management company specialising in sustainable infrastructure investments. The company was founded by three partners, Philippe Benaroya, Alban de La Selle and Gilles Lengaigne, as part of a strategic partnership with the Generali Group and manages €8.3 billion of assets under management on behalf of institutional investors (as of June 30th, 2023). The investment solutions deployed by Infranity are based on the resilience of the asset class and its returns over the long term, as well as its ability to contribute to sustainable development. They seek to respond to the major challenges facing society, such as the energy transition, green mobility, the digital transition and the improvement of social infrastructure in the health and education sectors. This positioning, combined with a high degree of selectivity in the investment process, enables Infranity to generate sustainable value for its professional clients. Infranity ranked globally #7 and #3 in Europe in the Infrastructure Investor Debt report released on March 6th, 2023[1]. Please refer to the Infrastructure Debt 30 ranking published by Infrastructure Investor for more details. Infranity is part of the Generali Investments’ ecosystem of asset management firms, and a key component of Generali’s capabilities in real assets.
About Rivage Investment
Rivage Investment is an independent asset manager with ca. €8 billion under management. Rivage Investment is a leading actor in the financing of European infrastructures. Our funds finance infrastructure, the public sector, energy transition and decarbonisation through different private debt strategies with different risk/return profiles and maturities from long term financing to bridge financing for portfolios of renewable energy projects under development. For the last 10 years Rivage Investment has been providing over 125 financings across various infrastructure sub-sectors and countries in Europe. Rivage Investment contributes to the development of sustainable and responsible assets with a commitment to support the Paris Agreement Goals. In 2023, Rivage Investment has undertaken to set ambitious targets for its infrastructure debt funds and contribute to the collective efforts to reach global climate goals.
https://www.rivageinvestment.com/en/
About Nature Infrastructure Capital
Nature Infrastructure Capital (NIC) is a sector-focused private equity firm dedicated to the global energy transition. NIC is an active investor across the energy transition landscape – renewables and distributed generation platforms, storage solutions, advanced transport, energy management & efficiency and green hydrogen. NIC has a long-term investment mandate and seeks to invest in partnerships with leading companies in its core areas, taking an approach that creates value for stakeholders, citizens, and communities.
About GreenVolt
GreenVolt is a renewables company listed in Euronext Lisboa and a member of its reference index, the PSI. The company has three business areas: power production through residual biomass, in which is a reference operator in Europe; traditional solar and wind utility scale renewable energy development platform, being a European major, with a pipeline around 6.9 GW; and distributed generation. Greenvolt is present in 17 countries, including the United States.
1. Any reference to an award provides no guarantee for future performance and is not constant over time.