Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised alternative asset manager Tikehau Capital on its contractual partnership with specialist renewable energy developer NovaFrance Energy to finance a €50m multi-year investment programme in agri-photovoltaic projects in France.
Tikehau Capital’s Green Assets impact fund will finance a programme under which NovaFrance Energy will install photovoltaic (PV) arrays for 5,000 poultry shelters on French farms over the next few years. The project’s potential solar capacity is estimated at 300 MWp in total. The PV shelters will help protect the animals from heat, bad weather and predators, whilst also producing green energy.
Tikehau Capital is a global alternative asset management and investment specialist with more than €36bn of assets under management, focussing on four key asset classes: private debt, real assets, private equity and capital market strategies. Its Green Assets fund focusses on energy efficiency in buildings and industrial sites, low-carbon mobility, sustainable agriculture, the circular economy and clean energy production.
Founded in 2018, NovaFrance Energy specialises in the development, investment, construction and operation of renewable energy projects. It aims to promote projects with a dual purpose, in this instance combining renewable electricity with animal welfare.
The multidisciplinary WFW Paris team that advised Tikehau Capital was led by Corporate Partner Thomas Rabain and Public Law and Regulatory Partner Laurent Battoue. They were assisted by Associates Lucile Mazoué and Mohamed Douib on corporate matters and Counsel Antoine Bois-Minot and Associate Marine Yzquierdo on the public law, regulatory and project contract aspects of the transaction. Partner Laurence Martinez-Bellet and her team assisted on the structuring of a complex warehouse bond financing aligned with the multi-year investment objectives and Partner Romain Girtanner and Counsel Hélène Ibos advised on tax law matters.
