Blackstone strikes deal to sell 80% stake in Meerwind to CTG

US investor Blackstone (NYSE:BX) said today it has agreed to sell its 80% stake in the owner of the 288-MW Meerwind Sued/Ost offshore wind complex in German waters to China Three Gorges Corp.

The company’s energy-focused private equity business, namely Blackstone Energy Partners, has signed an agreement to sell its majority stake in WindMW GmbH to China Three Gorges. The value of that deal was not disclosed.

According to previous reports by Reuters, at one point China Three Gorges was competing with China Guodian Corp to acquire the controlling stake in WindMW. Other parties that were said to be interested include Borealis Infrastructure and Munich Re’s MEAG.

The 80-turbine Meerwind plant off the German coast in the North Sea was fully commissioned in February 2015. It is capable of generating enough electricity to meet the annual power needs of about 360,000 households. Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH owns the remaining 20% of the facility.

Blackstone said that Meerwind was the first German offshore wind project to be fully financed by private investors and also the first one in Europe to be financed through a project bond.

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