SPAIN - EISER Infrastructure Partners has secured financing for two solar power plant developments in Spain and acquired an interest in a third development for its global infrastructure fund backed by Dutch asset manager APG.

EISER has arranged €475m of long-term project financing for Aries Solar Termoeléctrica (ASTE), which is developing two 50 megawatt solar thermal power plants, ASTE-1A and ASTE-1B, near Ciudad Real in Spain.

As part of the transaction, EISER has sold a majority stake (which it acquired in October 2007) to the Elecnor Group, while simultaneously purchasing from Elecnor a significant minority stake in Dioxipe Solar, a 50 megawatt solar thermal power plant development in Extremadura, near the border with Portugal.

Elecnor now owns a majority stake - and EISER a significant minority stake - in all three plants. Spanish engineering company Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas owns the remaining stakes in both ASTE and Dioxipe.

The Spanish power plant investments are for EISER's debut global fund infrastructure, which it launched in 2005 with €1.1bn in capital commitments.

The fund is now fully invested, with a diversified portfolio of 11 operating and development investments, which have a combined enterprise value exceeding €3bn.

EISER completed a management buyout from BNP Paribas in January 2010 and is now raising its second fund, EISER Infrastructure Fund II.

Jaime Hector, partner at EISER Infrastructure Partners, said: "The ASTE projects, together with our investment in Dioxipe, are significant and strategically important investments for our first fund.

"The successful completion of the sale, purchase and long-term project financing arrangements is evidence of our ability to manage and implement greenfield projects and their associated risks.

"Securing a debt package of this size in a difficult market is also a testament to the strength of the company and its progress under our ownership."

He added: "Since our initial investment in ASTE, we have navigated successfully through a variety of challenges, from the global financial crisis to the European sovereign debt crisis and the revision of renewable energy incentives in Spain.

"We have been able to mitigate the risks while moving the project forward to the point where construction is now ahead of schedule."

EISER completed a management buyout from BNP Paribas in January 2010 and is now raising capital for its second fund, EISER Infrastructure Fund II.

APG, which has invested in EISER's first fund, has been confirmed as a limited partner for the second fund along with the UK's Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

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