Repsol sells 25% of its renewables business to EIP and Crédit Agricole Assurances for 905 million

It involves valuing 100% of the subsidiary, including debt and minority interests, at 4,383 million

MADRID, 9 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Repsol has closed the sale of a 25% stake in its renewables subsidiary to the consortium formed by Crédit Agricole Assurances and the Swiss fund Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) for an amount of 905 million euros, the company reported.

In this way, the operation means valuing 100% of the 'green' business of the multi-energy company chaired by Antonio Brufau at 4,383 million euros, including debt and minority interests.

Repsol's board of directors met this Thursday in an extraordinary manner to approve the transaction, which represents a new milestone in the fulfillment of the company's 2021-2025 strategic plan.

In November 2020, with the launch of its new strategic plan, the group gave itself a period of 18 months to sell a minority stake in this business or take it public.

At the end of last April, the CEO of the company, Josu Jon Imaz, already indicated that a final decision on the entry or not of a minority partner in its renewable business was expected to be made before the summer.

The energy company highlighted that the entry into the capital of its 'green' subsidiary of these two partners demonstrates "the strength of its business model and growth in this segment created just over three years ago."

The sale of a minority stake in Repsol Renovables has aroused great interest among the international investment community, with top-tier entities bidding in the different phases of this procedure.

In addition, the incorporation of Crédit Agricole Assurances and EIP as partners entails an investment commitment that reinforces the growth of Repsol Renovables in line with the ambitious objectives of its strategic plan, which include reaching 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 and new plans among which are included the entry into new markets and the incorporation of complementary technologies such as offshore wind power.

Repsol's CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, stated that having partners of this "prestige" for its renewables business reinforces "the validity of the company's strategy and ambition to be a relevant player in the energy transition, and complies to our expectations in this important process".

"Our goal is to reach an installed capacity of 6 GW in 2025 and 20 GW in 2030. As partners, they share our strategic vision to grow in renewables, bring their experience and underline the value of our growth platform," he added.

The operation, which will have economic effects from January 1, is expected to be completed before the end of the year, once the necessary regulatory authorizations have been received.

According to the shareholders' agreement, Repsol will continue to control the renewables business, so that the company Repsol Renovables and its subsidiaries will continue to be consolidated in the Repsol Group's accounts. In accordance with accounting regulations, the operation will not produce any effect on the group's income statement.

And it is that the group had always made it clear that its strategy for the renewables business was to incorporate a partner with a minority stake, since its objective is to operate and lead this area.

In fact, Repsol has already applied this formula of incorporating partners with a minority stake in some of its renewable projects. Thus, last March the TRIG fund (InfraRed) entered as a 49% partner in the Valdesolar photovoltaic plant or in November last year it reached an agreement with Pontegadea (Amancio Ortega) as a partner, also 49%, in the Delta wind farm.