Foresight Solar eyes GBP 75m to pay debt, fund expansion

Foresight Solar Fund Ltd (LON:FSFL) on Wednesday unveiled a share placement seeking to raise GBP 75 million (USD 99.4m/EUR 84.2m) gross to pay debt related to acquisitions in Australia and to fund new investments.

Earlier this month, the company acquired a 48.5% stake in the 110-MWp Bannerton Solar Farm project in Victoria in a deal marking its first Australian investment and it later signed deals to invest in three construction-stage solar projects in Queensland totalling 117 MWp. These are expected to become grid-connected between March 2018 and October 2018. Foresight Solar’s portfolio after the acquisitions will have a net peak capacity of 621 MW across 23 assets, 146 MW of which under construction.

Foresight Solar will issue the new ordinary shares under its existing placing programme at GBP 1.08 apiece, equal to a discount of 2.9% to the closing price of the company’s ordinary shares on October 24. The placing will be non pre-emptive and will have immediate effect, with results to be announced on November 8. Admission of the new shares to the bourse and settlement will occur on November 10.

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Ltd will act as sole bookrunner of the transaction and the rest of the company’s 2017 placing programme.

Proceeds from the offering will go to pay down debt related to the Australian transactions that will see Foresight Solar’s existing GBP-95-million revolving credit facilities become fully allocated. The company will also finance “attractive investment opportunities” in the UK and abroad through the issue, it said.

As of September 30, Foresight Solar had total outstanding debt amounting to GBP 199 million. Its net asset value (NAV) totalled GBP 426 million.

Speaking on the Australian solar market, the British solar fund said it sees it as an attractive destination where it can diversify its portfolio and benefit from strong regulatory support in the sector. Meanwhile, Foresight Solar confirmed that it will postpone its plan for a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.325/EUR 1.123)

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