Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Bpifrance, IDIA Capital Investissement (Crédit Agricole) and the founders of leading French solar energy platform Apex Energies Group (“Apex Energies”) on its acquisition by Macquarie Asset Management, via its Macquarie Green Investment Group Renewable Energy Fund 2 (“MGREF2”).
Apex Energies aims to secure 1 GW of project capacity by 2025 and Macquarie will support its ambition to become a top independent solar power producer in France, in the rooftop, ground-mounted solar plants and energy self-consumption sectors. These activities align closely with Macquarie’s long-term mandate to develop, construct and operate renewable energy at scale in mature markets.
Apex Energies develops, finances, builds and operates rooftop and ground mounted solar power plants across France. The group manages more than 530 sites with a combined 92 MW of installed capacity and has a 2.2 GW development pipeline.
Macquarie Asset Management has been investing in the renewable energy sector for over 15 years and manages 13.3 GW of green projects globally. Apex Energies represents MGREF2’s third investment having already acquired stakes in a solar portfolio in the US and an offshore wind farm in the UK.
The multidisciplinary WFW Paris team advising Bpifrance, IDIA Capital Investissement and the founders of Apex Energies was led by Regulatory and Public Law Partner Laurent Battoue and Corporate and M&A Partner Thomas Rabain. They were assisted by Senior Associate Antoine Bois-Minot and Associates Simon Dumontel, Anthony Pilon and Marine Yzquierdo on public law, regulatory and project matters, as well as Associates Mohamed Douib and Inès-Anaïs Martinet on the corporate aspects of the transaction. Real estate advice was provided by Partner Cyrille Gogny-Goubert and Associates Kodou Diouf and Catherine Masquelet, with Partner Laurence Martinez-Bellet and Associates Julie Michelangeli and Diana Harapu advising on the finance law aspects of the transaction.
