AMP Capital funds have agreed to acquire a 50% interest in Australia’s Macarthur Wind Farm from Malaysian owner Malakoff for A$880m (€543.4m).
AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF) and AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund (CIF) will co-own the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere with Australasian infrastructure fund manager Morrison & Co, which acquired its half stake from AGL for A$532m in 2015.
Located in south-western Victoria, Macarthur Wind Farm’s 140 wind turbines have the capacity to generate 420MW of energy.
AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund manager, Charles Savage, said: “The transaction marks CommIF’s first investment in the renewable energy sector.”
He told IPE Real Assets: “As our fund grows, we are making larger investments. Typically we take a stake of between 60% and 80% in an asset when we co-invest with CIF, depending on CIF’s appetite.”
The acquisition will lift the wholesale fund’s total portfolio to A$4.6bn.
“The investment has an attractive risk profile that provides fixed revenues that are not exposed to price or volume risk,” Savage said.
Energy generated from the wind farm, which started operating in 2013, is fully contracted to Australia’s largest electricity provider AGL until 2038 under a fixed-price contract.
AMP Capital CIF Fund manager, John Julian, described Macarthur Wind Farm as “a terrific addition” to the CIF portfolio, which provided access to both listed and unlisted infrastructure assets to retail and institutional investors.
Malakoff chief executive officer, Ahmad Fuaad Kenali, said the proposed disposal provided an opportunity for Malakoff to unlock the value of its investment, held since 2013.
Kenali said the group would continue to look for potential power and water assets within and outside Malaysia.
