The AES Corporation and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) have agreed to acquire FTP Power (sPower), a solar energy firm in the U.S.
The deal is agreed for $853 million in cash, plus the assumption of $724 million in non-recourse debt. In connection with the transaction, AES and AIMCo will each directly and independently purchase and own slightly below 50% equity interests in sPower.
sPower, a Fir Tree portfolio company that the firm capitalized in 2014, owns and operates utility and commercial distributed electrical generation systems across the United States. The sPower portfolio includes 1,274 MW of solar and wind projects in operation or under construction and a development pipeline of more than 10,000 MW located in the United States.
The operating assets and projects under construction are under long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with an average remaining life of 21 years. The offtakers under the PPAs have an average credit rating of A1. After closing, AES’ ownership of renewable energy projects in operation and under construction will grow from 8,278 MW to 9,552 MW, including hydro, wind, solar and energy storage.
“sPower not only brings 1.3 GW of installed capacity with an average remaining contract life of more than 20 years, but a first class management and development team with a pipeline of more than 10 GW of projects,” said Andrés Gluski, AES president and chief executive Officer.
Kevin Uebelein, chief executive officer of AIMCo, said, “sPower is an impressive organization that has and continues to successfully develop and execute a robust renewable energy development pipeline, delivering value to all of its many stakeholders. Our partner, AES, is a world class leader in sustainable energy and we are delighted to be working with them.”
Ryan Creamer, chief executive officer of sPower, said, “With the help of Fir Tree, we have experienced incredible growth over the last three years. We are excited to become part of the AES/AIMCo partnership and we are confident that it positions us to continue to grow, develop and maximize the platform that we have created.”
This transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2017.
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