Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Portugal’s EDP to buy U.S. Horizon Wind Energy

Energias de Portugal (EDP) said it has agreed to buy U.S. wind-park company Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs to enter the U.S. market and strengthen its position in renewable energy.

EDP did not give a value for the deal, but said the equity of Horizon totaled about $2.15 billion and it has debt of around $180 million. The acquisition would be adjusted for investments, which are estimated at $600 million, EDP said.

EDP said the acquisition would be funded by debt and proceeds from a tax equity partner. EDP gave no details, but said the debt and proceeds from the equity partner “are both fully underwritten.”

Filipa Ferreira, an analyst at Lisbon Brokers, said the total investment would cost slightly more than 1 billion euros which “considering the capacity in operation and the pipeline of expected capacity is not expensive.”

“We see this purchase as very positive, it is a purchase in a market with strong growth and high potential,” Ferreira said.

Horizon has 559 gross megawatts of operating wind projects and another 997 MW under construction due to be completed by the end of this year.

“Horizon also has a strong pipeline of projects in several stages of development in 15 different states across the country, with combined aggregate generating potential of over 9,000 MW,” EDP said.

EDP said the purchase would make it a leading global renewables player with expected wind power generation in operation of 3,800 megawatts by the end of 2007.

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