Macquarie leads $3.7bn purchase of French solar developer and 16GW project pipeline

Australian banking giant Macquarie has further bolstered its rapidly expanding renewable energy portfolio after snapping up French solar developer Reden Solar and its 16GW portfolio and pipeline for a price of €2.5 billion ($A3.7 billion).

The purchase of Reden adds to Macquarie’s portfolio of more than 50GW worth of green energy projects in development, under construction, or in operation around the globe, and taken its total investment in green energy to €40 billion ($A59 billion) since 2010.

The purchase comes just days after Macquarie announced plans to create a new specialist developer in offshore wind projects, Corio, that will look at 15GW of projects in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia.

The Toulouse-based Reden Solar – which develops, finances, builds, and operates solar power plants across Europe, but mostly in France and Spain – currently boasts an operational portfolio of 762MW and a development pipeline of 15GW.

It has recently expanded its footprint into Greece and Italy.

“Our business is continually evolving from predominantly rooftop solar, into ground mounted and agrivoltaic projects,” said Thierry Carcel, CEO of Reden Solar.

“With the backing of our new shareholders, we look forward to expanding Reden Solar’s presence in existing and new markets, as well as developing our teams on the ground.”

The consortium purchase was led by Macquarie Asset Management with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and German asset managers MEAG. The vendors were French private equity firm InfraVia Capital Partners and French asset management firm Eurazeo.

Macquarie Asset Management’s stake in Reden Solar will be acquired on behalf of institutional investors via Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund and Macquarie Green Investment Group Renewable Energy Fund 2 (MGREF2), and follows its November 2021 acquisition of French solar energy platform Apex Energies Group.

Reden Solar’s geographically diverse platform provides an exceptional opportunity to scale up its development pipeline to help meet net zero targets across Europe,” said Stéphane Brimont, head of France, Benelux, and Greece at Macquarie Asset Management.

“In the context of stronger national climate policies and clean energy goals, we believe Reden Solar is well-positioned to continue providing market leadership in the development and operation of solar energy and contributing to global energy transition aspirations,” said Lincoln Webb, executive vice president and global head of infrastructure and renewable resources at BCI.