GA_P Advises Velto Renewables on €819m Solar Portfolio Refinancing

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo has advises Velto Renewables, S.L.U. on the refinancing of a portfolio comprising 76 operating solar photovoltaic plants in Spain. The assets have a combined installed capacity of 218 MWp, and the syndicated financing amounts to €819m.

In addition, the transaction was structured through a syndicated financing agreement comprising several facilities, including a term loan facility and a debt service reserve facility. As part of the transaction, several existing financing arrangements, including bond issuances, were simultaneously repaid and cancelled, and replaced with a new unified financing structure supported by a syndicate of leading international financial institutions

Furthermore, the refinancing will enable Velto Renewables to strengthen its long-term capital structure, enhance financial flexibility and simplify the group’s corporate structure. It will also support the continued optimisation of one of the company’s key renewable energy portfolios in Spain.

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Export Development Canada, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Abanca, ING, Deutsche Bank and CaixaBank participated as lenders in the transaction. Kenta Capital acted as financial and hedging coordinator.

Meanwhile, founded in 2020, Velto Renewables is an independent renewable power producer backed by the Canadian investment group La Caisse. The company owns more than 600 MW of operational solar photovoltaic assets in Spain and France, holds a 25% stake in a 630 MW offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom, and has a development pipeline exceeding 1 GW of renewable energy projects across the Iberian Peninsula.

The Team

The Firm team was led by Verónica Romaní, partner in the Banking & Finance practice and Head of Energy, together with Juan Pérez, José Francisco Canalejas, Isabel Silva, Juan Reynolds, Carla Logroño and Roberto Bustamante.