Polish renewables developer PAD-RES is to be acquired by a joint venture (JV) established by real estate investor Kajima and private equity firm Griffin Real Estate.
Kajima Europe and Griffin have combined on the JV to finance and develop solar and wind projects in Poland, capitalising on a renewables rush in the country, and has acquired a 72% stake in PAD-RES as part of the deal.
The JV is to further develop a portfolio of development stage and shovel-ready solar and wind projects with a total combined generation capacity in excess of 500MW, providing capex and equity financing for the portfolio over the next four years.
New projects and additional greenfield opportunities will also be pursued, with Griffin Real Estate acting as a co-owner and investment manager of the platform.
Under the terms of the deal, PAD-RES founder Mariusz Adamczewski will remain as a minority investor and CEO.
Adamczewski said PAD-RES held an established position in the Polish renewables market with eleven years of experience executing on clean energy investments, but lauded the potential for the acquisition to help drive its growth further.
“I am convinced that gaining such strong partners, their organisational support and financing will translate into further dynamic growth of our company including more and more projects generating such needed clean energy,” he said.
Chris Gill, projects and investment director at Kajima, said while renewables remained a “nascent sector” in Poland, the JV would see it become amongst the first movers in “what is set to be a key growth area for the country and the whole of the CEE region”.
Poland remains one of Europe’s hottest solar markets, driven by an attractive policy environment and a broader transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables for power generation. The cover story of PV Tech Power vol. 27 explored Poland’s role as Europe’s leading emergent market, the full story of which can be read here.
PV Tech publisher Solar Media travels to Poland in November to host the maiden Large Scale Solar Central & Eastern Europe (LSS CEE) conference. Held in Warsaw, the event will bring together investors, developers and EPCs from the European solar community. More details on the event, including how to attend, can be found here.