Northleaf Capital buys stake in Lal Lal Wind Farms, opens office Melbourne

Toronto-based Northleaf Capital Partners has expanded its infrastructure investment in Australia with the acquisition of an equity stake in two wind generation projects.

Northleaf has acquired a 40% equity interest in Lal Lal Wind Farms projects located near Ballarat, Victoria and has also announced the opening of an office in Melbourne, as the firm continues to expand its US$10bn (€8.63bn) global private markets investment management platform.

Northleaf acquired its stake in Lal Lal Wind Farms from the project’s developer, Macquarie Capital for an undisclosed sum.

When the wind farms were sold to Macquarie Capital last May, reports at the time said the development was expected to cost more than AUD400m (€257.2m).

Installation has commenced, and the wind farms are scheduled to be fully operational by the second half of 2019. When complete, the projects will generate a combined output of 228MW.

Stuart Waugh, a managing partner at Northleaf Capital Partners, said: “A formal presence in Australia extends Northleaf’s worldwide network, enhancing our capabilities to provide investors with access to highly differentiated mid-market infrastructure, private equity and private credit investments globally.”

Waugh said the decision to have an office in Melbourne also reflected the firm’s ongoing commitment to private markets opportunities in Australia and New Zealand.

Tom Irvine, a managing director of Northleaf’s new Melbourne office, said the firm plans to expand global private markets capabilities in Australia and New Zealand, “and continuing to grow our C$2.7bn (€1.77bn) infrastructure programme”.

Northleaf‘s global infrastructure portfolio includes 26 assets, representing more than US$20 bn in total enterprise value.

Northleaf has been an active investor in Australasia, making its first private equity investment in 1998.

In addition to Lal Lal Wind Farms, Northleaf has invested in Waterloo Wind Farm, an operational 131 MW facility in South Australia, and ANZ Terminals, a bulk liquid storage business with operations in Australia and New Zealand.