Talanx finances offshore wind farm

(WK-intern) – Talanx acts as lead manager to a group of institutional investors to coordinate the financing of a ten-year bond
Total of EUR 832 million in debt financing
Total capacity of Borkum Riffgrund 2 ensures power for around 460,000 German households

Acting as lead manager for a double-digit group of institutional investors ranging from six countries across Europe, Talanx has coordinated EUR 832 million of senior bond financing to the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm.

The debt enabled Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to acquire a 50 percent share in the wind farm owned by Danish energy supplier Ørsted (formerly DONG Energy) with a transaction value amounting to EUR 1,170 million. The bond has a term of approximately ten years. After successfully financing the Gode Wind 1 offshore wind farm in 2015, this is the second successful large-scale transaction under the guidance and leadership of Talanx. In addition to German insurance companies and asset managers, further institutional partners include banks and European institutional investors, amongst them: DekaBank, Edmond de Rothschild AM’s BRIDGE platform, La Banque Postale Asset Management, NN Investment Partners and Wiener Städtische Versicherung.

„With the financing of Borkum Riffgrund 2, we continue to consistently pursue our strategy of increasing the share of infrastructure investments in our portfolio. In doing so, we aim to counter the decline in yields resulting from the persisting low interest rate environment“, said Dr. Immo Querner, Chief Financial Officer of Talanx AG. „We expect new investments in infrastructure transactions to amount to EUR 300 million in equity and debt in 2018. Overall, we consider EUR five billion of investments in infrastructure achievable.“

Dr. Thomas Mann, spokesman for the Management Board of Ampega Investment GmbH, commented: „We are delighted that we, once again as lead manager for a group of institutional investors, were able to attract many of the same lenders to Gode Wind 1 as well as new ones at home and abroad to join the consortium. Thereby, the higher debt volume compared to Gode Wind 1 could still be raised confidently.“

Borkum Riffgrund 2 comprises the construction of 56 wind turbines with a combined output of 450 megawatts. With this capacity, it is envisaged to be able to provide power for around 460,000 homes. The turbines will be installed approximately 30 km north of Borkum, with technical completion planned for 2019. This offshore wind farm is one of the last major projects with an attractive feed-in tariff. Moving forward under the German Renewable Energies Act (EEG), subsidies provided to a transaction need to be bid in a competitive auction by prospective developers. It is expected that the senior bond for Borkum Riffgrund 2 will be certified externally as a „green bond“.

About Ørsted

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 5,600 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen [Orsted]. In 2016, the company’s revenue was DKK 61 billion (EUR 8.2 billion).

About Global Infrastructure Partners

GIP is a leading global, independent infrastructure investor. It invests in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors and currently manages approximately $43.4 billion for its investors. The companies in GIP’s portfolio have combined annual revenues greater than $35.1 billion and employ approximately 47,100 people. For further information, see www.global-infra.com.

About Talanx

With premium income of EUR 31.1 billion (2016) and about 20,000 employees, Talanx is one of the major European insurance groups. The Hannover-based Group is active in some 150 countries. Talanx operates as a multi-brand provider with a focus on B2B insurance. Under the HDI brand, which can look back on more than 100 years of tradition, Talanx operates both in Germany and abroad in industrial insurance as well as retail business. Further Group brands include Hannover Re, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, Targo insurers, PB insurers and neue leben, the latter all specialised in bancassurance, as well as the Polish insurer Warta. Talanx Asset Management is one of the top asset management companies in Germany and manages the assets of the Talanx Group. With its subsidiary Ampega Investment, Talanx Asset Management is also an experienced provider of solutions for outsourcing in the B2B market. The rating agency Standard & Poor’s has given the Talanx Primary Group a financial strength rating of A+/stable (strong) and the Hannover Re Group one of AA-/ stable (very strong). Talanx AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the MDAX as well as on the stock exchanges in Hannover and Warsaw (ISIN: DE000TLX1005, German Securities Code: TLX100, Polish Securities Code: TNX).

PR: Talanx