Emera to shed stake in US JV with First Wind

Nov 18, 2014 - Canadian utility Emera Inc (TSE:EMA) said Monday it will unload its 49% interest in Northeast Wind Partners II LLC to its joint venture partner First Wind Holdings LLC for USD 223.3 million (EUR 179m).

The joint venture, which was set up in 2012, is currently 51%-owned by First Wind. Northeast Wind Partners owns and operates a 419 MW of wind power plants in the northeastern US.

Emera estimates that the current value of its stake is USD 201.6 million. On announcing the sale, the Canadian utility explained that the disposal is part of the just-announced USD-2.4-billion deal which will see SunEdison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) and its yieldco TerraForm Power Inc (NASDAQ:TERP) acquire all of First Wind. The completion of First Wind’s sale is conditional on the completion of the deal with Emera. Both transactions are expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

Emera anticipates to book a gain from the sale upon its closing, but did not disclose figures. The company’s president and CEO Chris Huskilson explained that Emera will now seek to redeploy its capital in “higher value assets and opportunities” in other renewable energy infrastructure investments.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.802)

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