King & Wood Mallesons has advised EDP Renewables Europe, a subsidiary of leading renewable energy company EDP Renováveis (EDPR), on the sale of a 49% stake in an asset portfolio of 23 onshore wind projects in Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.

The 49% stake of the portfolio is being sold to Vortex, a fund led by Middle East investment bank EFG Hermes, for €550 million with completion anticipated in 2Q16. The full enterprise value of the total portfolio amounts to more than €1 billion.

EDPR, owned by the EDP Group, has been developing wind farms since 1996 and is devoted to value creation, innovation and sustainability. With over 900 employees, it operates in markets around the world and manages a global portfolio of 9.0 GW of installed capacity. This transaction is part of EDPR’s asset rotation strategy, by which the value of its projects’ future cash-flow stream is re-invested in the development of quality and value accretive projects.

With this new transaction King & Wood Mallesons has strengthened its relationship with EDP Group. Over the last few years, the firm has advised EDP on its largest corporate deals in Spain, including the takeover bid for Hidroeléctrica del Catábrico, the IPO of EDP Renováveis, the acquisition of distribution assets from Gas Natural, the acquisition of gas transmision assets from Repsol and the sale of the gas transmission business from Naturgás to Enagás.

Roberto Pomares, Madrid Corporate partner, said, “The Spanish renewables market has benefited from growing investor interest as a result of a new focus on renewable energy generation in the region, encouraged by the growing maturity of the sector and the promise of policy stability. As one of this year’s most important investments in the European energy sector, this transaction harnessed the strengths of our pan-European Corporate team, allowing us to work together across different regulatory and operational regimes.”

The King & Wood Mallesons team was led by Madrid Corporate partner Roberto Pomares and included:

* SPAIN: Teresa García (Senior Associate - Corporate), Gonzalo Fernández (Associate - Corporate), Alba Díez (Associate - Corporate); Alberto Ruano (Partner - Tax); Pablo Tejerizo (Senior Associate - Tax); Covadonga Pérez (Associate - Tax); Gonzalo Olivera (Partner – Energy); and Alberto Artés (Senior Associate - Energy).
* FRANCE: Raphaël Béra (Partner - Tax); Félicien Bardsley (Associate - Corporate); Aurélien Diday (Associate - Corporate); Etienne Bimbeau (Associate – Tax); and  Géraldine Palais  (Associate – Real Estate).
* BELGIUM: Oliver Armand (Counsel - Corporate) and Janine De Keersmaecker (Associate - Corporate).