F2i to buy 334-MW Italian solar power business

Italian asset manager Fondi Italiani per le Infrastrutture, better known as F2i, said today it has agreed to acquire RTR and its 334-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolio.

UK private equity group Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd is selling RTR and its 134 photovoltaic (PV) power plants to F2i. The sale price is EUR 1.3 billion (USD 1.52bn), according to a Reuters report.

The deal is pending clearance from antitrust authorities.

Renato Ravanelli, CEO of F2i, said this transaction would make F2i the third largest solar power producer in Europe. The company’s Third Fund currently owns sector player EF Solare Italia alongside Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) on a 50/50 basis and wants to buy its partner's share. The plan is to transfer all 389 MW of PV assets held by the F2i fund to EF Solare by the end of the year and thus expand the firm's portfolio to more than 800 MW.

“The noteworthy operating and financial efficiencies of scale achieved will also make it one of the continent's most efficient operators,” Ravanelli added.

F2i’s financial advisers in the RTR transaction are Barclays, Intesa Sanpaolo and SocGen. Meanwhile, BNP, Calyon, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, SocGen and UBI act as financing banks.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.171)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!