AMP Capital, on behalf of investors in AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF) and the AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund (CIF) has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the 420MW Macarthur wind farm in Australia.
Located in south western Victoria State, the Macarthur wind farm is spread across in 5,500 hectares of land and started operating from 2013.
It is powered by 140 turbines and the electricity generated from the wind farm will be sufficient to power 181,000 Australian homes annually. The electricity produced by the wind farm is sold to AGL under a fixed price contract until 2038.
AMP Capital CIF fund manager John Julian said: “Macarthur Wind Farm is a terrific addition to the CIF portfolio. The fund aims to provide retail investors with both sustainable income and capital growth over the long term – the acquisition is well-aligned to this objective.”
Macarthur wind farm stake acquisition is valued at $604.8m
The stake acquisition transaction is valued at AUD880m ($604.8m). Financial close of the deal is expected to take place in the first quarter of next year. MUFG Bank, PwC, King & Wood Mallesons, Aurecon and Frontier had advised AMP Capital on the transaction.
AMP Capital Community Infrastructure fund manager Charles Savage said: “We’re extremely pleased to have secured this asset for our investors. Macarthur Wind Farm is a unique and high-quality asset that meets CommIF’s objective to produce long-term, stable returns while delivering a positive social impact now and into the future.”
“The transaction marks CommIF’s first investment in the renewable energy sector. It has an attractive risk profile that provides fixed revenues that are not exposed to price or volume risk. We remain excited by the pipeline of further opportunities in social and community infrastructure projects across Australia and New Zealand in 2020.”
CommIF invests in high-yield, social infrastructure assets in Australia and New Zealand in sectors such as education, health, corrections, community housing, water, and recreational facilities.
The stake acquisition in the wind farm increases the number of assets held by CommIF to 15, with a total enterprise value of about AUD4.6bn ($3.16bn).
