Direct Energie closes buys of French renewables player Quadran

French electricity and gas supplier Direct Energie said Tuesday it has finalised the acquisition of renewable energy developer Quadran, thus strengthening its position on the domestic energy market.

The transaction was agreed in June 2016 as part of the buyer’s vertical integration strategy and plans to diversify its production mix. With the deal, Direct Energie gets onshore wind farms, solar parks, hydropower and biogas power plants in France and French overseas territories.

At end-2016, Quadran had over 360 MW of assets in its portfolio and its capacity is expected to reach about 800 MW by end-2018. The company has a headcount of over 200.

As previously announced, Direct Energie is buiyng Quadran from Lucia Holding for EUR 303 million (USD 353m). There is an earn-out option of up to EUR 113 million, largely depending on the pace of commissioning of Quadran projects until mid-2019. Should several projects with a combined capacity of 185 MW go live this year, part of the earn-out will be recognised at closing of the deal, bringing its value to EUR 344 million.

Following the acquisition, Quadran will be consolidated in Direct Energie’s financial statements as of November 1. The deal is not expected to have a major effect on its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), operating income and annual targets for 2017, the buyer said.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.164)

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