At the beginning of August VALOREM finalised the closings of the FHA and ELCANO refinancing transactions. The work was carried out over several months alongside multiple external partners (consulting and auditing firms, financial partners, etc.) for a total refinanced amount of 360 million euros.
Two pieces of exciting news that contribute to achieving the objectives set out in the Group’s financial strategy: preserving our independence and maintaining our competitiveness in an accelerating world.
These refinancings offer several important benefits for VALOREM: optimisation and financial security for the group in the broadest sense, extension of the maturity of the debt raised, reduction of the debt service coverage ratio, replacement of existing DSRAs by an unfinanced DSRF and a significant reduction in financing costs.
Both transactions took place in the context of the COVID crisis and were successfully “dosed” in a record time frame.
ELCANO transaction: refinancing of 13 of VALOREM’s wind and solar power assets: 165 MW for 300 million euros
The holding company ELCANO now holds a portfolio of 13 VALOREM project companies: 11 wind farms and 2 photovoltaic farms. ELCANO totals 165 MW and represents an annual production of 435 GWh. The holding company mutualises the economies of the power plants to take advantage of the strengths of the portfolio effect. The selection of ELCANO’s integrated power farms has been made in order to mitigate risks and to have a balanced global performance by varying the types of assets. Farms with a good geographic disparity, different technologies and equipment have thus been grouped together. This success follows on from the VASCO transaction that VALOREM carried out in 2017*.
FHA transaction: refinancing of 14 hydropower plants: 10.4 MW for close to 60 million euros
In 2019, VALOREM acquired 51% of Force Hydraulique Antillaise SAS (FHA) becoming co-shareholder alongside Raphaël GROS (founder). FHA is the main hydropower developer in the French West Indies and owns 14 power plants in Guadeloupe. The transaction made it possible to refinance the acquisition debt.
VALOREM thus asserts its position as the leading producer of green energy on the archipelago and wishes to develop a synergy via a multi-energy approach. Indeed, the group now produces green and local energy in Guadeloupe thanks to the Sainte-Rose wind farm and FHA’s hydroelectric plants and is currently developing several new solar and wind projects.
Joint transactions carried out in record time thanks to collaboration with long-standing partners
VALOREM would like to warmly thank all the partners who worked alongside its teams, and because of whom the Group was able to carry out these transactions successfully.
ELCANO transaction
Banking partners:
– Arrangers and Lenders: SOCIETE GENERALE, CREDIT AGRICOLE Group (including CACIB and Unifergie), as well as BPIFRANCE
Lenders’ Advisers:
– Legal (documentation): DE PARDIEU BROCAS MAFFEI
– Legal (legal audit): WATSON FARLEY & WILLIAMS
– Insurance: MARSH
– Technical: NATURAL POWER
– Financial model: DELOITTE
– Market price of electricity: BARINGA
VALOREM’s Advisers:
– Financial: ASTRIS FINANCE
– Legal (documentation): LINKLATERS
– Financial coverage: NOVEO FINANCE
FHA Transaction
Banking partners:
– Arrangers: Banque Postale, BPCE ENERGECO and HELIA CONSEIL
– Lenders: Banque Postale, BPCE, CAISSE D’EPARGNE AQUITAINE POITOU CHARENTES
Lenders’ Advisers:
– Legal (documentation): FIDAL
– Legal (legal audit): LPA-CGR
– Insurance: MARSH
– Technical: ARTELIA
– Financial model: DELOITTE
– Legal (structuring and taxation): ERNST & YOUNG
VALOREM’s Advisers:
– Financial : ASTRIS FINANCE
– Legal (documentation): LPA-CGR
– Financial coverage: NOVEO FINANCE
* In 2017 the VASCO transaction had replaced 12 senior debts with a single 180 million euro loan on much more attractive financial terms.