Taaleri’s SolarWind II Fund announces its first close at EUR 220 million

TAALERI PLC                       PRESS RELEASE  10 JULY 2019         1:00 PM (EEST)

Taaleri’s SolarWind II Fund announces its first close at EUR 220 million

The Taaleri SolarWind II Fund, the fifth renewable energy fund managed by Taaleri Energia Funds Management, has held a first closing, with approximately EUR 220 million in commitments.

The first-close investors include the European Investment Bank, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Taaleri Plc, the Taaleri Energia team and a wide range of pension funds, foundations, endowments and family offices. Individual investors were also strong supporters of the fund in the first close, investing through a fund managed by Taaleri Private Equity Funds.

With a significant number of Finnish and international investors in active due diligence, it is expected that there will be continued strong demand in future closings. The Taaleri SolarWind II fund has a target size of EUR 300 million and an agreed hard cap of EUR 400 million.

The Taaleri SolarWind II fund will invest in utility-scale wind and solar assets. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of predominantly ready-to-build assets in Europe (c.80%) and in the US (c.20%). It is estimated that the Taaleri SolarWind II fund will finance approximately 850 MW of renewable energy capacity, which will offset over 1 million tonnes of CO₂ annually throughout the 25+ year lifetime of the assets.

Taaleri Energia’s dedicated team of 25 people, including 10 engineers, is highly experienced in wind and solar project development, deal sourcing, technical due diligence, transaction execution, construction and operations. Taaleri Energia utilises and leverages its in-house development management, procurement, construction, investment and operational expertise to source attractive opportunities and to maximise the value of investments on behalf of its fund investors. Taaleri Energia was recognised as a "Consistent Top Performing Infrastructure Manager” in the 2019 Preqin Global Infrastructure League Tables, and a Taaleri SolarWind I fund wind farm investment was recently awarded with the 2018 IJ Global European Onshore Wind Transaction of the Year.

 "We have an extensive active deal pipeline in our target markets, with two SolarWind II fund investments that have already been approved by the Investment Committee and that we fully expect to close in the coming months.  Our strategy is to invest approximately EUR 20-50 million equity tickets, but we can also execute larger deals through co-investments with our fund investors and other strategic partners. We are extremely happy with the investor interest and support that the fund has generated so far, and we look forward to putting that money to work,” comments Kai Rintala, Managing Director, Taaleri Energia.

"The Taaleri Energia team and the SolarWind II fund have been very well received by institutional investors. Fully commercial, subsidy-free, utility-scale wind and solar fund strategies can be highly effective impact investments with attractive infrastructure return characteristics, and we are delighted that so many investors have chosen to back our team and fund in the first close,” says Taaleri Energia’s Head of Investor Relations, Stephen Ross.

Vice-President of the European Commission Jyrki Katainen and EIB Vice-President Alexander Stubb added: "Our institutions’ support for Taaleri’s renewable energy fund is logical, as the energy transition is a key part of our planet’s sustainable future, and needs strong financial backing. Following the EU’s goal to increase the share of renewable energy, the European Investment Bank has been investing heavily in renewable energy generation. The support of the Investment Plan makes it possible for the EIB to support this goal through fund structures like Taaleri SolarWind II fund.”

About Taaleri Energia

Taaleri Energia is a Helsinki based wind and solar fund manager and developer. Taaleri Energia has one of the largest dedicated wind and solar investment teams in Europe. Taaleri Energia develops, invests in and manages utility-scale wind and solar investments, primarily in Europe and the US, and currently manages a 1 GW (gigawatt) portfolio of wind and solar assets. Taaleri Energia is the largest private equity owner-operator in the Finnish wind market, with 110 turbines producing approximately 1% of all the country’s electricity. Taaleri Energia is part of the Taaleri Group, which is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange. www.taalerienergia.com

Taaleri Plc
Communications

For more information, please contact:

Kai Rintala, Managing Director, Taaleri Energia, +358 40 162 5711, kai.rintala@taaleri.com
Stephen Ross, Head of Investor Relations, Taaleri Energia +358 40 733 7789, stephen.ross@taaleri.com

Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which the release, publication or distribution would be prohibited by applicable law or would require registration or other measures to be taken.

Taaleri in brief

Taaleri is a Finnish financial service company, whose parent company Taaleri Plc is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki's, Finland, main market. The Taaleri Group comprises three business areas: Wealth Management, Financing, and Energy. In addition, the Group makes investments from its own balance sheet.  

At the end of 2018, Taaleri had assets under management totalling EUR 5.7 billion and 5,400 wealth management customers. Taaleri Plc has some 4,100 shareholders. Taaleri’s operations are supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority.

More information about our company and services: 

www.taaleri.com/en
www.fellowfinance.fi/en
www.garantia.fi/en

Sophie Jolly, Head of Communications and IR, sophie.jolly@taaleri.com, tel. +358 40 828 7317