NEW YORK & BREMERHAVEN,Germany & GADEBUSCH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced that Blackstone Energy Partners and affiliated private equity funds have entered into a definitive agreement to sell its majority interest in WindMW GmbH (“WindMW”), an offshore wind power joint-venture and owner of one of Germany’s largest offshore windfarms, “Meerwind,” to China Three Gorges Corporation (“China Three Gorges”), a global power company with extensive renewable power operations around the world. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Li Keqiang, the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and Angela Merkel, the Federal Chancellor of Germany.
Situated off the German coast in the North Sea, the 80-turbine, 288 megawatt (“MW”) windfarm produces enough clean energy to power approximately 360,000 homes. Meerwind’s management team, led by CEO Jens Assheuer, designed, constructed, commissioned and operated the park in partnership with Blackstone since 2008. The windfarm was fully commissioned in February 2015.
WindMW’s management team will continue to operate the business under China Three Gorges ownership.
“I am grateful to have partnered with the Blackstone team to make possible such a significant contribution to Germany’s clean power efforts,” said Jens Assheuer, Chief Executive Officer, WindMW. “We look forward to working together with China Three Gorges, with whom we share a strong commitment to developing and operating renewable energy projects globally.”
Meerwind was the first German offshore wind project to be fully financed by private investors, one of the largest German offshore wind farm to achieve a full financial closing, and was first to close under Germany’s KfW financing program, which is focused on helping Germany meet its renewable energy targets by providing debt financing to greenfield energy projects. Meerwind was also the first European offshore wind project to be financed through a project bond.
“We are proud that Blackstone has played a leadership role in bringing such a landmark project to fruition,” said Sean Klimczak, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone. “Our team consistently looks for transformative projects that challenge and improve upon the status quo and Meerwind epitomizes that effort. We are pleased that the WindMW team will carry on their impactful work under the new ownership of China Three Gorges.”
Jefferies, PJT Partners and Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisors to Blackstone. Gleiss Lutz acted as legal advisor to Blackstone.”
About Blackstone
Blackstone Energy Partners is Blackstone's energy-focused private equity business, with a successful record built on Blackstone's industry expertise and partnerships with exceptional management teams. Blackstone has invested over $9 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry.
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with over $340 billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.
About WindMW GmbH
WindMW GmbH is a Bremerhaven-based joint-venture between Blackstone Group (80%) and Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH (20%). WindMW GmbH was responsible for the planning and construction of the offshore wind farm Meerwind Süd|Ost and is now operating the 288MW German offshore wind farm located in the North Sea.
