US independent power producer (IPP) Enfinity Global has sold a 49% equity interest in its 402MW portfolio of solar plants in Italy to the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), the country’s national sovereign wealth fund.
The investment includes 14 solar PV plants, both operational and under construction, located in Italy’s Lazio and Emilia-Romagna regions. Once fully operational, the portfolio is expected to generate approximately 685GWh of energy annually.
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Upon completion of the deal, Enfinity will retain a majority stake and continue to lead the management of the assets, leveraging its leading position in the Italian renewable energy sector.
Through this agreement, Enfinity will accelerate the development of its 2.6GW solar and 5.3GW energy storage pipeline. According to the company’s CEO Carlos Domenech, SOFAZ will act as Enfinity’s long-term partner and investor in Italy.
Established in 1999, SOFAZ manages Azerbaijan’s oil and gas revenues, with over US$65 billion in assets. This acquisition supports its strategy by providing stable returns and advancing the global shift to sustainable energy.
Enfinity was advised by Mediobanca as its financial advisor, Legance as its legal counsel and Fichtner as the technical advisor. Meanwhile, SOFAZ was advised by JLL as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisor, Dentons Europe Studio Legale Tributario as legal counsel, EY as financial and tax advisor and DNV as technical advisor.
The Florida-based IPP was established in 2019 and has a total solar portfolio of 35.5GW worldwide, including 1.1GW of operational assets across the US, Italy, Japan, and India, with an additional 1.3GW currently under construction. The company also has a total battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity of 12.9GW, distributed across key markets with 6.6GW in the US, 4.7GW in Italy, 1.3GW in the UK, 210MW in India, and 102MW in Japan.
Recently, Enfinity Global secured up to €100 million (US$108 million) in financing from asset manager Eiffel Investment Group to advance its solar and energy storage portfolio in Europe. The funding was provided through four of Eiffel’s sustainable investment vehicles.
