Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Wren House divest part of Viesgo’s portfolio to Repsol for €750 million

Madrid, 28 Jun 2018

• Repsol to acquire the low emissions assets and retail business
• Strategic transaction will allow Viesgo to focus on the regulated distribution and renewables businesses
• €750 million transaction is strategically beneficial for all parties

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), via Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 4 (MEIF4), and Wren House Infrastructure have announced that they have entered into an agreement to sell part of Viesgo to Repsol. The sale is valued at a total consideration of €750 million.

Repsol will acquire the majority of Viesgo’s unregulated assets including Viesgo Supply, which has electricity and gas contracts with 750,000 households and businesses, as well as 700MW of conventional generation hydro power (both pumping storage and run-of-river); and two Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plants with a total installed capacity of 1650MW.

MIRA and Wren House will retain Viesgo’s regulated entities including the electricity distribution network business which spans 31,150 km through Northern Spain and is considered one of the Iberian Peninsula’s most important power distribution assets. In addition, Viesgo will retain 462MW of onshore wind capacity across 23 wind farms in Spain and Portugal as well as 25MW of Spanish mini-hydro assets, and two coal-fired power plants located in Andalusia, Spain.

“This strategic transaction will allow Viesgo to increase its focus on its regulated asset base, ensuring that it is well positioned to capitalise on new opportunities resulting from the increased electrification of the economy, and the ongoing energy transition. Viesgo is embracing new technological developments and embarking on a significant digital transformation plan, which we are confident will allow it to build on its strong market position,” said Juan Caño, Head of Iberia, MIRA and member of the Board of Directors of Viesgo.

“MIRA has extensive knowledge and expertise running regulated networks and in renewables and we are proud to be invested in Viesgo. We look forward to continuing to support the company in its future success,” continued Caño.

“Wren House and MIRA have invested together to build and grow Viesgo since its acquisition, supporting major asset overhauls and the implementation of pioneering customer-oriented initiatives. We strongly believe Repsol is well positioned to continue steering the acquired portfolio in the same direction. This transaction allows us to focus on the regulated assets which are core to our strategy, whereby we deploy our considerable experience to invest in large-scale assets with strong cash flows and good potential for growth,” said Piotr Sochocki, Executive Vice President of Wren House Infrastructure Management and member of the Board of Directors of Viesgo.

MEIF4 and Wren House acquired 100% of Viesgo, known as E.ON Spain at the time, in March 2015.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year, following the necessary regulatory approvals. No redundancies are expected as a result of the transaction.

Contact

Nicole Grove
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets
+44 77 6545 2193
nicole.grove@macquarie.com

About Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA)

More than 20 years ago Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) pioneered investment in a new asset class for institutional investors – infrastructure. 

Today we combine two decades of experience and expertise to identify and unlock investment opportunities in the assets that people use every day – extending beyond infrastructure to real estate, agriculture and energy.  

Managing investments that underpin economies and communities requires a careful balance of local knowledge, experience and foresight to create enduring value. 

Our dedicated operational and financial experts in each region work closely with our global network to help our clients to see across the regions and deep into local markets, working where our funds invest and portfolio companies operate. 

As at 31 March 2018, MIRA has assets under management of more than €96.9 billion invested in 148 portfolio businesses, ~330 properties and 4.5m hectares of farmland. MIRA is a division of Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management arm of Macquarie Group, a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and commodities.

In addition to Viesgo, MIRA’s other investments in Spain include Empark, having acquired 100% of the car park operator in December 2017, and Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CLH), in which it acquired a 20% stake last year.

About Wren House Infrastructure

Wren House, based in London, U.K., was established in 2013 as an operationally independent UK limited company. Wren House is a captive global infrastructure investment manager, with a focus on delivering attractive risk-adjusted equity returns through a disciplined investment approach, a long-term responsible investment horizon and active asset management. With a flexible and commercial approach to investment, Wren House has a clear mandate and a long-term view without the need to exit.

Wren House Infrastructure has a team of over 20 professionals and has invested approximately $4bn of private debt and equity capital. The Wren House portfolio includes investments in airports, ports, water, energy generation (conventional and renewables), distribution and transmission, and spans 12 countries and over 10,000 employees in the UK, Europe, Australia, Central and South America. Wren House is also active in midstream, digital infrastructure (including towers, fibre and cloud), healthcare and education infrastructure. Wren House is an affiliate of the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO). The KIO is the London office of the Kuwait Investment Authority. Wren House currently has a commitment of $5bn to fund investment.

Wren House’s other investments in Spain include a significant stake in GPG, alongside Gas Natural Fenosa, which was acquired in 2015. GPG is a primarily “clean technology” energy generation company with operations in seven countries.