Aquila to fund new acquisitions with EUR-150m share issue

Aquila European Renewables Income Fund plc (LON:AERS) plans to launch an EUR-150-million (USD 177.9m) share issue in a bid to grow its clean energy portfolio via new acquisitions.

The fund intends to issue 145 million of new ordinary shares at a price of GBP 1.0375, which will be a discount of 3.9% to the closing price of its shares on September 16 and a premium of 5.2% to its net asset value as of end-June.

If there is sufficient demand, the number of shares to be issued may be increased to reach proceeds of EUR 200 million, Aquila said on Thursday.

Funds from the deal will be earmarked for investments in the company’s identified pipeline of renewable energy projects. Such investments will enable it to diversify its existing portfolio, which includes five onshore wind farms in the Nordics and 21 hydropower plants (HPPs) in Portugal. All of them, except for a 400-MW wind farm in Norway, are operational.

The targeted project pipeline contains wind, HPP and solar assets with a combined capacity of over 1.4 GW.

The share offering is subject to shareholder approval and is planned to be completed on October 8. Dealings of the new stock are anticipated to begin on October 13.

Aquila is also planning a placing programme from October 2020 to September 2021, under which it could issue up to 500 million shares.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.186)

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