US Solar (USF) announced it has closed the acquisition of 100% of the cash equity interests in a portfolio of twenty-two operating utility-scale solar power projects totalling approximately 177MWDC in North Carolina, Oregon, and California. USF announced signing of the binding transaction on 29 January 2020 with closing subject to customary conditions and consents which have now been satisfied.
The portfolio for an equity purchase price of US$38m from affiliates of Heelstone Renewable Energy, LLC and, as part of the acquisition, will also assume existing project-level debt. The purchase was funded with cash from USF’s $200m IPO proceeds (USF launched last April – click here to read more).
The completion of the transaction, in combination with the prior three completed acquisitions, brings total equity deployed or committed across the four acquisitions to approximately US$140m and total debt to US$200m with a total portfolio size of 382MWDC. USF intends to use the remaining IPO proceeds to refinance the Heelstone Portfolio’s existing project level debt (Refinancing) at which point the cmpany will be fully committed. Prior to the refinancing, if some or all of the remaining IPO proceeds can be committed to new investments such as the Southern Current opportunity announced on 27 February 2020, then USF may consider raising additional equity for the refinancing.
About USF
USF listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange n April 2019, following its US$200m IPO. The company’s investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the Americas.
The company acquires or constructs, owns and operates solar power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs).
USF: Fourth acquisition from US Solar as it gets closer to full deployment of $200m IPO proceeds