Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised French independent asset management company RGREEN INVEST on a €250m investment in independent Israeli renewable energy producer Econergy to enhance their strategic cooperation. RGREEN INVEST and Econergy have already partnered on four investment projects previously, with this transaction enabling Econergy to further develop its renewable energy portfolio and continue its expansion in Europe.
€163m of the investment will support the construction of Econergy’s solar and wind projects across Europe, including approximately €50m to support the development of a 92 MW solar project under construction in Parau, Romania. The investment will be made through two RGREEN INVEST’s funds, INFRAGREEN IV and INFRAGREEN V.
RGREEN INVEST will also invest €87.5m in common equity in its UK subsidiary Econergy International Limited to support the development of their pipeline across Europe, including providing engineering, procurement and construction management services (EPCM) as well as asset management services for a minimum period of 10 years.
RGREEN INVEST is an independent French management company investing in and financing energy transition and adaptation to climate change. With over €1.4bn under management, RGREEN INVEST finances projects across Europe and internationally amounting a total installed capacity of more than 3.3 GW, having avoided nearly 844,000 tons of CO2 emissions in 2021.
Listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Econergy is a developer and IPP specializing in solar PV, wind and storage projects in particular in the UK, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland and Greece. With a global project pipeline of more than 7.5 GW across Europe, Econergy aims to reach approximately 4 GW of grid-connected renewable energy projects by the end of 2025.
WFW Paris advised RGREEN INVEST on all legal and tax aspects of the complex structuring of this cross-border transaction.
The team was led by Partner and Office Head Romain Girtanner working closely with Finance Partner Laurence Martinez-Bellet. They were supported by Corporate Counsel Guillaume Pouyet and Tax Counsel Hélène Ibos, as well as Corporate Associates Lucile Mazoué, Mohamed Douib, Domitille Cabaud, Thibaut de Toytot and Chloé Léonard, Finance Associates Julie Michelangeli and Chloé Moriceau and Tax Associate Maximilian Cristecu. London Corporate Partner Mark Tooke and Associate Clementine Freeth assisted on the English law components of the deal.
Vlasceanu, Nyerges & Partners in Bucharest acted as RGREEN INVEST’s Romanian counsel and Christodoulos G -Vassiliades & Co LLC in Limassol as their Cypriot counsel.
Econergy were advised by Erdinast, Ben Nathan, Toledano & Co in Tel Aviv and Squire Patton Boggs in London.
