Vortex Energy sells controlling stake in 365MW solar project to TNB

Vortex Energy, a global renewable energy platform managed by Beaufort Investments, has completed the sale of its controlling and managing stake in Vortex Solar (Vortex III), a 365MW solar PV portfolio, acquired in 2017 from TerraForm Power, at an enterprise value of circa GBP 500 million.

The stake was sold to TNB International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), an existing shareholder in the business and one of South East Asia’s largest utilities with an installed capacity of circa 15GWs globally.

Vortex III is one of the largest standalone portfolios in the UK, with an average asset age of 6 years, PPAs with major European energy companies and utilities, an attractive ROC regime and a long-term debt package from major lenders including Santander, RBS and ING.

“This is a major milestone for Vortex. The exit of Vortex III delivered a 1.5x cash on cash multiple to our investors and an IRR of c. 14%. We continue to demonstrate our ability to pursue the full cycle of raising capital, investing strategically and exiting major renewable energy portfolios. Since launching Vortex in 2015, we have combined net 822MW of premium assets while investing more than EUR 1.3bn in the sector in developed markets. We have been consistently delivering attractive returns to our shareholders and partners by aggregating and enhancing assets and then selling portfolios to strategic long-term owners of renewable energy assets. This is the second major exit following the disposal of our 49% stake in a 1GW wind portfolio to funds managed by J.P. Morgan last year.”

Karim Moussa, head of Private Equity and Asset Management, at EFG Hermes.

“This transaction demonstrates Beaufort’s skills as a leading investment and asset manager of large scale portfolios and businesses. Since acquiring the UK assets, we have improved their performance and capital structure via a major refinancing; revamping all key portfolio agreements, partnering with Lightsource BP and establishing a strong London based asset management team. This active management strategy has generally enabled us to return to our investor across our three Vortex Energy platforms since inception, a net average annual cash yield of 5%, cash-on-cash multiple of 1.4x and IRR of 13%. We look forward to continue growing Vortex Energy’s footprint and investing in energy transition businesses and portfolios globally over the coming period.”

Bakr Abdel-Wahab, head of Energy, at EFG Hermes Private Equity.

The Beaufort team is currently planning to establish Vortex IV, a renewable energy platform that will target global generation, storage, distribution and technology businesses.