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13 March 2020
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
FOURTH ACQUISITION UPDATE
FINANCIAL CLOSE ON TWENTY-TWO OPERATING SOLAR POWER PROJECTS IN NORTH CAROLINA, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) is pleased to announce 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 (Portfolio). USF announced signing of the binding transaction on 29 January 2020 with closing subject to customary conditions and consents which have now been satisfied. USF has acquired the Portfolio for an equity purchase price of US$38 million from affiliates of Heelstone Renewable Energy, LLC and, as part of the acquisition, will also assume existing project-level debt. The equity purchase price was funded with available cash from the initial IPO proceeds. Marathon Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Heelstone Renewable Energy, LLC.
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$140 million and total debt to US$200 million1 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 Company 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.
Notes:
1. Debt figures represent balances once all projects are operational. Equity and debt figures exclude remaining uncommitted cash on hand which may be used for the refinancing of the Heelstone Portfolio.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund Whitney Voûte |
+1 718 230 4329 |
Cenkos Securities plc Will Rogers Rob Naylor Will Talkington |
+44 20 7397 8900 |
KL Communications |
+44 20 3995 6673 |
Charles Gorman Charlotte Stickings |
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About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful 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).
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund which has committed over US$1bn to US and Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by Walsh & Company, the funds management division of Evans Dixon, an ASX-listed company (ASX: ED1) with over A$20 billion of funds under advice and management.
