Bluefield Solar Income (BSIF) and its fund manager Bluefield Partners have put themselves up for sale after a majority of the investment company’s shareholders objected to a proposal floated last month for them to merge.
The £414m renewables fund has launched a “coordinated” strategic review and formal sales process after shareholders stated their clear preference for a wind-up and quick return of capital rather than a change of strategy and a cut in the 12%-yielder’s prized dividend. This follows three years in which the shares have traded at a steep discount to asset value, in common with the rest of the sector.
The announcement also came after shares in BSIF and other renewables funds were knocked by government proposals to change the inflation linkage used in historic RO and FIT incentives.
The shares jumped over 6%, or 4.5p, to 76.8p at the news.
The company says its previous attempts to sell assets showed the market preferred integrated renewables businesses offering operational assets and a development pipeline.
To that end, “Bluefield Partners, as investment adviser and manager to BSIF, would support the sale of its businesses in tandem with BSIF’s operational assets and development pipeline in order to optimise the potential value of a transaction and open the sale process up to the widest possible pool of potential acquirers.”
Our view
James Carthew, head of investment company research at QuotedData, said: “Selling BSIF alongside its manager – rather than having BSIF buy its manager first – makes life simpler for shareholders and avoids awkward rows about how to value the manager. We will be really sorry to see it go, assuming of course that a bidder does come forward with an acceptable offer. We have always thought of BSIF as a flagship fund for the sector.”
