Terra Firma, the London-based private equity firm headed by Guy Hands, has acquired Nuova Rete Solare (NRTS), Italian electricity grid operator Terna's second solar project, for €264m.
The deal was completed through a 100 per cent share purchase in the company, which is wholly controlled by Terna through SunTergrid, the Rome-based subsidiary it established in 2009.
The NRTS portfolio consists of solar plants with a total capacity of 78.5 MWp, which will benefit from various Conto Energia feed-in tariffs established this year.
The sale of the company generated overall gross proceeds of about €69m, which will partly contribute to the dividend.
Terna CEO Flavio Cattaneo said, 'Thanks to our strongly dedicated team, once again our investments created value, generating double-digit returns in record time. In less than one year we have already reached about 20 per cent of our five-year capex target in non-traditional activities. Since 2010, when we started our first PV project, we have installed more than 220 MWp, confirming Terna as the leading PV developer in Italy.'
Terra Firma is currently targeting a £3bn fund, around half that of its previous pool due to difficulties in fundraising amid recent market volatility.