Coillte CGA has sold its wind portfolio to Greencoat Renewables plc

Coillte CGA has sold its stake in four utility-scale, recently commissioned operating wind farms totaling 105MW net capacity, to Greencoat Renewables plc.

The wind farms, situated in counties Wicklow, Cork, Galway and Roscommon were all co-developed by Coillte with blue-chip partners, including the ESB, Bord na Mona and SSE.

Greencoat Renewables plc is an investor in euro-denominated renewable energy infrastructure assets, and is focused on the acquisition and management of operating wind farms in Ireland. It is managed by Greencoat Capital, an experienced investment manager with a track record of making acquisitions and delivering strong shareholder returns in the listed renewable energy infrastructure sector in the UK.

Coillte, Ireland’s largest commercial forestry company, manages approximately 7% of the country’s land, with a forestry and land estate of 441,000 hectares of which 351,000 are forested. Coillte operates three strong businesses from this land – its core forestry business, a wood panel manufacturing business (MEDITE SMARTPLY) and a land solutions business (Coillte Land Solutions). The company exports to over 30 countries worldwide, and in 2017 generated an EBITDA of US$97 million from its US$1.7 billion of assets.

Oaklins’ team in Ireland acted as joint financial advisor to the seller, providing advice in relation to strategy, valuation and negotiation, in addition to the preparation of key sale materials and overall process management.