Specialist financial advisory to the renewables sector oversees sale of combined 50.8% stake in leading Nordic IPP to Canadian infrastructure fund TD Greystone
Augusta & Co. (Augusta), a specialist financial advisory to the renewable energy industry, has announced that it has advised Treïs Group (42.7%) and Ernst Rosén (8.1%) on the successful sale of their combined majority stake in Rabbalshede Kraft, the leading Independent Power Producer (IPP) in Sweden.
The highly competitive process drew interest from a wide range of international bidders and concluded with existing shareholder TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund acquiring the 50.8% stake to become the majority owner with an 86.9% holding. The remaining shareholders are made up of local companies and private individuals.
Treïs, a family-owned investment group, and Ernst Rosén, a Gothenburg-based real estate firm, have been long-standing and committed shareholders of Rabbalshede Kraft and in 2020 concluded that the time was right to realise their investment in the business. The streamlining of the shareholdings under a strongly capitalised majority owner will facilitate the company’s rapid expansion in onshore wind and into new technologies.
Based in Rabbalshede and with offices in Gothenburg and Stockholm, Rabbalshede Kraft is one of only a few Nordic IPPs. It owns and operates 255MW of onshore wind assets in southern Sweden, with a further 100MW under construction and is developing a pipeline of over 2GW across the country. The company is managed by a highly experienced team led by CEO Peter Wesslau.
Cian McComb, Principal at Treïs, commented: “We are very pleased with the conclusion of this transaction which delivers both a great result for the selling shareholders and at the same time a powerful growth engine for the Rabbalshede Kraft management team. The process attracted a wide range of investor interest drawn to this rare opportunity to acquire a Nordic IPP. This breadth of interest, combined with the compelling growth strategy developed by the company, has delivered a great outcome for all involved.”
He continued: “Augusta did an outstanding job in accessing a global investor base and at the same time retaining the confidence of management that the sale process would provide the backing needed for the business to expand.”
Simon Clement-Davies, Partner at Augusta, said: “We are proud to have supported our clients in a strategically important corporate finance transaction that ran through the challenges of the lockdown and delivered a premium result on the timeline we agreed. It’s the end of a chapter for the selling shareholders and the beginning of an exciting new growth phase for Rabbalshede Kraft. We wish them well.”
The deal continues to build on Augusta’s experience supporting Nordic renewable energy transactions, with the company overseeing more than 3GW of renewable energy deals in the region since 2016. Between 2019 and 2020 Augusta’s completed transactions in the Nordics have included the sale of the 211MW onshore wind farm Piiparinmäki to Glennmont Partners, the 250MW onshore wind farm Åndberg to Ardian Infrastructure and the 500MW Fortum portfolio sale to Energy Infrastructure Partners (formerly known as Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners).