Hannon Armstrong buys into 1.2-GW wind portfolio

Oct 21, 2014 - Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc (NYSE:HASI) said yesterday it has taken stakes in 1,200 MW of US wind farms owned by an affiliate of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM).

The US infrastructure investor invested USD 144 million (EUR 112m) in 10 target assets, located in five states, which are not burdened with debt and liabilities. The plants were put on stream between 2004 and 2008 and and operated by EDP Renovaveis (ELI:EDPR), Invenergy LLC, Germany’s E.on (FRA:EOAN) and Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF).

The deal will allow Hannon Armstrong to participate in the priority cash flows related to the wind parks and creates additional investment opportunities for the firm. The transaction is also seen to help the company reach core earnings per share of USD 0.25 in the last quarter of 2014 and lift its dividend in December to USD 0.26 per share.

"This transaction adds diverse, attractive risk-adjusted returns in operating grid connected renewables, complements the growth opportunities in distributed energy assets and supports our sustainable yield," said president and chief executive Jeffrey Eckel.

Also on Monday, Hannon Armstrong said it has raised USD 115 million of new fixed-rate non-recourse debt from the Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). The wind investment was used as collateral.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.781)

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