Slaughter and May advised Centrica plc on a sale of its 50% interest in the Lincs wind farm (“Lincs”) to the UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services managed entities and the UK Green Investment Bank plc. Siemens Project Ventures will also sell its 25% share with the remaining joint venture partner, DONG Energy, continuing to hold a 25% share in the asset. The transaction puts 50% of the enterprise value of Lincs at £487 million and after repayment of associated debt and other costs, Centrica’s net share of the proceeds will be approximately £220 million.
The transaction is expected to complete in February 2017 and Centrica will continue to provide operations and maintenance support to Lincs for a 12 month transitional period from the date of completion of the sale.
The sale completes Centrica’s exit from the ownership of wind power generation assets, although the Centrica group will continue to be a major enabler of the development and operation of wind farms through entering into agreements to purchase renewable power.