ACCIONA Energía announced today that it has reached an agreement with Elawan Energy, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, for the sale of 100% of Acciona Saltos de Agua, S.L. group (ASA) for €287 million. The transaction perimeter is debt-free.

The ASA portfolio comprises 23 fully-owned hydroelectric plants totalling 175MW of installed capacity located in the regions of Aragón, Cantabria and Cataluña.

The transaction is subject to foreign direct investment approval and is expected to close before year-end. It will generate a capital gain for ACCIONA Energía of approximately €170 million.  

The hydro portfolio represents 20% of ACCIONA Energía’s hydro installed capacity and has an approximate production of 500 GWh per year.

The portfolio is comprised of reservoir (77% of the capacity) and run-of-river (23% of the capacity) plants ranging from small to medium-scale hydropower assets. The projects have long-term concession agreements with an average remaining concession life of 23 years.

ACCIONA Energía CEO Rafael Mateo said “this transaction highlights the quality of our generation portfolio and represents an important milestone in our asset rotation strategy, bringing to light the divergence between public and private market valuations.”

Dionisio Fernández, Elawan CEO stated that “by adding this hydropower portfolio to our existing renewable energy sources, we aim to further stabilize our future power production and build a long-term earnings base.”

Crédit Agricole acted as financial advisor to ACCIONA Energía in this transaction.