NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank and Talanx have jointly provided their support with project financing for two solar parks already in operation since 2010 close to the town of Cottbus in South Brandenburg. This marks the first opportunity for NORD/LB to work with the institutional investor Talanx. As part of this strategic cooperation, NORD/LB and investors of the Talanx Group jointly provided long-term loans upon financial close. NORD/LB handled the arrangement of project financing with the sponsors.
The total output of the two solar parks, Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III, is 39.8 MW. This would be the supply of energy for up to 10.800 private households. The parks have performed beyond initial forecasts. The total volume of financing is around € 85.5 million and is largely broken down into fixed-coupon and variable tranches, maturing on 31 December 2029. Blue Forrest Solar Holdings B.V., a joint venture between DIF Infrastructure II B.V. and NIBC European Infrastructure Fund I C.V., are the owners of the solar parks. Both NORD/LB and the Talanx Group provide long-term financing at current market conditions. The Talanx Group’s share in the financing is € 50 million.
“This financing represents a further addition to our portfolio in the successful financing of renewable energies projects. We are pleased to now have this first opportunity to work with the institutional investor Talanx, enabling us to take another step towards pursuing our strategy of working more closely with institutional investors,” said Christoph Schellkes, Head of the Credit Asset Management division at NORD/LB.
“As a long-term investor, Talanx is the ideal partner for traditionally long-term infrastructure projects,” said Dr Thomas Mann, Chief Investment Officer at Talanx Asset Management. “With this investment in the Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III solar parks, we have again generated yields well above the current interest of German government bonds as well as sustainably adding to our portfolio of alternative investments.”
Your contact at NORD/LB:
Dr Catrin Kuhlmann
Fon: +49 (0) 511 361-6159
Your contact at Talanx:
Christoph Boßmeyer-Hortsch
Fon: +49 (0) 511 3747-2094
About NORD/LB
With total assets of € 182 billion, NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank is a leading German business bank. Its core business segments include structured financing in the energy and infrastructure sector, ship and aircraft financing, corporate customers business, commercial real estate financing, capital market business and private and commercial customers. The Bank has headquarters in Hanover, Braunschweig and Magdeburg, as well as branches in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Schwerin and Stuttgart. NORD/LB is represented outside of Germany by a Pfandbrief bank (NORD/LB Covered Bond Bank) in Luxembourg and by branches in London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai
About Talanx With premium income of € 31.8 billion in 2015 and about 22,000 employees, Talanx AG is one of Europe's major insurance groups. The Hanover-based company operates in around 150 countries and manages capital investments to the value of around € 120 billion. Along with real estate and private equity holdings in the area of alternative investments, Talanx focuses particularly on investing in infrastructure projects. Talanx has long invested in infrastructure projects indirectly through funds. Since the beginning of 2014, however, the Group has also participated directly in selected projects by providing equity and debt capital through a new, highly specialised unit. The infrastructure portfolio held by Talanx encompasses investments such as private equity and debt participations in wind farms, electricity grids, water utilities and public-private partnership projects in Germany and other European countries, with the investment volume totalling € 1.4 billion. By 2017 it is envisaged that the total volume will increase to around € 2 billion. www.talanx.com
