Private equity giant KKR has taken an 80% stake in developer Gestamp Solar.
The exact source of the investment is the US$3.1 billion fund KKR Global Infrastructure Investors II.
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The deal values Gestamp Solar at around US$1 billion with KKR committing to maintain Gestamp Solar’s objective of 2.5GW of operating capacity by 2020.
The company has 300MW of capacity installed or under construction at present and a 2.2GW pipeline across the 18 countries it operates in.
“This is an attractive time to invest in a leading owner and developer of solar PV plants,” said Jésus Olmos, member and head of European infrastructure, KKR said. “The company has a highly experienced and entrepreneurial management team, an outstanding track record of developing and constructing its own assets, and an attractive advanced portfolio of development projects.
“This investment adds to our strong belief and track record of investing in renewable energy. Gestamp Solar will be a key platform for KKR, developing utility-scale solar PV on a global level and offers the opportunity to own development capabilities in solar PV complementary to our presence in operational wind and solar assets worldwide through our partnership with Acciona and KKR investments in the US and Canada,” added Olmos.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
“We are delighted to count on KKR as investment partner in this exciting time of rapid growth in the renewable energies sector,” said Jorge Barredo, CEO of Gestamp Solar. “We believe that KKR is the right firm to open an exciting new chapter in Gestamp Solar’s successful history. We look forward to capturing the enormous potential of the solar PV market together,” he added.
In March, Gestamp sold its entire 280MW US pipeline to Japanese CIGS module manufacturer Solar Frontier.
