London-based multinational law firm Linklaters has advised Green Investment Group (GIG) on the acquisition of a 40% stake in Iberdrola’s Scottish Power Renewables’ 714MW East Anglia One offshore wind farm.
Once commissioned in 2020, it will be one of the world’s largest wind farms, said a note from the British law firm.
"This transaction is the first partnership between GIG and Iberdrola’s Scottish Power Renewables subsidiary in the UK and brings the total capacity of UK offshore wind supported by GIG to over 5.7GW across 14 projects. This is the equivalent to almost 50% of the total UK offshore wind farm capacity in operations or under construction," said a the company.
When fully operational, the East Anglia One wind farm will produce enough green electricity to power the equivalent of over 600,000 homes annually.
The Linklaters team was led by Energy & Infrastructure partners, Ross Schloeffel and John Pickett. The team also included structured finance partner Reza Taylor, projects partner Richard Ginks, counsel Andrew Penfold and managing associate David Leeming. Associates Aaron Brooks, Tim Broune and Emma Kate Cooney also had key roles.
Ross said: “It is a privilege to work with GIG on such an important transaction. The success of this transaction as well as a number of other recent deals we’ve worked on in this area, demonstrates the continued investment opportunities for financial sponsors in the renewable energy sector.”
Linklaters has been involved in numerous offshore wind transactions over the past year, both on the M&A and project financing side. Linklaters has previously advised Innogy on the £2bn financing and development of the 860MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm and the subsequent sale of a 41% stake in the wind farm to a Japanese consortium.
The firm also advised a group of fifteen commercial lenders and an institutional investor in relation to the GBP 1.4 billion refinancing of the 353 MW Galloper Offshore Wind Farm located off the coast of Suffolk, United Kingdom. More recently, the firm advised the sponsors on the refinancing of the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, involving 27 commercial banks and an institutional lenders.