Ardian Infrastructure has taken an 81% stake in four solar PV plants in South America.

The deal is the manager’s first in the region and follows recent investments in greenfield wind projects in Norway and Sweden in January and June.

Mathias Burghardt, head of Ardian Infrastructure, said: “This first investment in South America is a perfect illustration of our ability to source attractive investment opportunities in Europe and in the American continent thanks to our industrial partners.

“Renewable energy is undoubtedly the energy for the future, and we are committed to stand as a leading player at world scale.”

Three of the Solarpack plants are in the north of Chile, with one in south Peru.

The deal also sees Ardian taking a minority stake in Solarpack and a seat on its board of directors.

Solarpack will continue to handle the plants’ operations, maintenance and day-to-day asset management to maximise the financial return of the assets.

The plants have a combined installed capacity of 46 MW, with the three plants in Chile totalling 26.5 MW and the plant in Peru boasting 19.4 MW.

The deal provides Solarpack with extra liquidity to build new projects.

It is planning to build 125 MW of new PV plants in the next six months.