Ireland: Mainstream Signs EUR 60 Million Corporate Facility with Macquarie

Global Renewable Energy Company Mainstream Renewable Power (Mainstream) has announced the successful signing of a corporate facility for up to EUR 60 million provided by Macquarie Group (Macquarie). Under the terms of the transaction Mainstream will receive an initial EUR 40 million corporate-level facility, with provision for an additional EUR 20 million of capital at a future date upon satisfaction of certain further conditions and approvals.

The transaction remains subject to conditions precedent including Mainstream shareholder approval.

In this current round of fundraising, Mainstream has also raised EUR16.8 million from High Net Worth Individuals and has appetite to take in additional equity to further develop its business including the massive Energy Bridge which will export 5,000MW of wind power from Ireland to the UK starting from 2017.

Mainstream is set for significant expansion this year with over 325MW of wind and solar plant going into construction in Ireland, South Africa, Chile and Canada. After winning three government tenders in South Africa last year, construction is due to start on its 138MW wind farm and two 50MW solar Photovoltaic plants in the Eastern and Northern Capes.

Mainstream is also due to commence construction at the 33MW Negrete Cuel Wind farm in Chile and the 46MW Old Man wind farm in Canada. Mainstream’s first Irish project (9MW wind farm) goes into commercial operation in November this year.

Mainstream has recently submitted a planning application for its 450MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in Scotland and is also progressing two mega-scale offshore wind farms in England and Germany.

Commenting on the deal, Mainstream’s Chief Executive Eddie O’Connor said: “Mainstream is delighted to be partnering with leading renewable energy investor Macquarie at such an exciting time for our company. We have been through a very comprehensive due diligence process and Macquarie’s investment is a clear testament to the confidence they have in our future growth.”

He continued: “After going through our initial development stage, Mainstream is now embarking on a very strong growth trajectory. We have a team of over 150 specialised staff actively developing more than 50 large scale wind and solar projects across four continents. We have started construction on over 325MW of wind and solar projects in four countries and this investment means we will be bringing more projects into construction as well as expanding our global project development portfolio.”

Macquarie Group’s Chief Executive in Europe, Middle East and Africa, David Fass, commented: “Macquarie is delighted to support Mainstream in the realisation of its UK and global renewable energy pipeline. We believe Mainstream is uniquely positioned to benefit from the development of the offshore wind sector, which will play an increasingly important part in the generation mix over the next decade. 

“This transaction continues Macquarie’s strong track record across the renewable energy sector as an investor, adviser, developer, operator and financier. We are seeing an increasing level of interest from clients who are seeking bespoke funding solutions to support the growth of their businesses. Given our depth of expertise and commitment to funding renewable energy projects, we are able to provide clients with the type of capital necessary to expand their project portfolios,” said Mr. Fass.

The facility, which follows a rigorous nine month due diligence process, is Mainstream’s largest single tranche of capital at the Holdco level. Macquarie’s funding follows Barclays Capital who invested EUR20 million when the company was established in 2008.

This investment brings total equity and corporate debt raised by Mainstream since it was founded in 2008 to over EUR265 million. Eddie O’Connor founded Mainstream after selling Airtricity to E-ON and Scottish and Southern Energy for EUR1.8 billion.

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Press release, September 10, 2012; Image: Mainstream Renewable Power