US-based renewable energy developer Longroad Energy will receive a $500m equity investment from MEAG, alongside two of its existing investors NZ Super Fund and Infratil.
MEAG serves as an asset manager for German reinsurance company Munich Re, and its affiliates.
Longroad intends to use the new investment to shift from its current, ‘develop to sell’ business model to a more ownership-oriented one.
Also, it plans to advance the expansion of its current 1.5GW portfolio of owned assets, to 8.5GW of wind, solar, and storage projects, in the coming five years.
Longroad CEO Paul Gaynor said: “This important infusion provides Longroad with the capital to rapidly transition to a strategy biased to asset ownership.
“It also will fuel our acquisition goals and continue to support our investments in adjacent sectors, as we did recently with Valta Energy in the DG space.
“We are thrilled to have MEAG join with our existing investors to power our robust growth plans, and we appreciate their collective support as we make strides in implementing our ambitious near-term objectives.”
Alongside its 1.5GW net ownership operating portfolio, Longroad has 3.2GW of developed and acquired projects.
It has a substantial development pipeline of around 15GW of wind, solar and storage projects across 13 states, including Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maine, and Utah.
Goldman Sachs served as lead advisor, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Lazard Frères & Co. as financial advisors and Morgan Lewis served as legal counsel to Longroad.
Barclays served as financial advisor and Holland & Knight as legal counsel to MEAG on the transaction.
Infratil CEO Jason Boyes said: “Infratil is extremely happy with this outcome. We remain very optimistic about the opportunities and outlook for Longroad.
“It is well-positioned in a key geography, with high-quality operating assets, built-in growth through its development portfolio, and a proven team.
“The new investment from a leading global infrastructure investor in MEAG is a strong endorsement of the business and the sector.”
