Vinci buys into green energy firm, eyes expansion in US renewables
French construction group Vinci has finalised a €50m investment NatPower, a renewable energy developer set up in 2019.
The company, which is based in Milan, London and Washington, DC, has 30GW of projects under development.These are mainly in Italy, the UK and the US, but also in Kazakhstan, the Balkans, Chile and Tunisia.
Under the deal, Vinci will acquire 10% of the company’s shares from its founder, Fabrizio Zago, and from the Tyrus Capital fund. Vinci has also taken convertible bonds, which will allow it the option of taking control of NatPower in the future.
It will also have first refusal on buying into projects in their ready-to-build phase.
As well as the share and rights transactions, the parties have agreed to develop renewable energy projects in the US. These will mainly be onshore wind and solar, and will strengthen NatPower US presence. At present this consists of 1.2GW of assets in operation and about 2GW at the planning stage.
Lastly, leveraging NatPower’s expertise, Vinci will aim to develop energy storage projects, particularly in the UK.
