AMP Capital to buy Malakoff’s stake in Australian wind farm

PETALING JAYA: Australia-based fund management firm AMP Capital will be acquiring Malakoff Corp Bhd’s entire 50% stake in Macarthur Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere.

In a statement posted on its website, AMP Capital said the acquisition would be made on behalf of the investors under its AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund (Commif) and the AMP Capital Core Infrastructure Fund (CIF).

“The transaction is valued at A$880mil. Financial close of the deal is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2020. AMP Capital was advised by MUFG Bank, PWC, King & Wood Mallesons, Aurecon, and Frontier,” said AMP Capital, which has Au$200bil funds under management as of June 30. The Macarthur Wind Farm, which started operating in 2013, comprises 140 wind turbines generating 420MW of energy.

Located in south western Victoria, Australia, the Macarthur Wind Farm site spans 5,500 hectares of agricultural land outside the Macarthur township.

Australia’s largest electricity generation operator, AGL, is the sole buyer of the energy generated from the wind farm, via a fixed price contract until 2038.

According to AMP Capital Commif manager Charles Savage, the Macarthur Wind Farm is the fund’s first investment in the renewable energy sector.

“Macarthur Wind Farm is a unique and high-quality asset that meets Commif’s objective to produce long-term, stable returns while delivering a positive social impact now and into the future. It has an attractive risk profile that provides fixed revenues that are not exposed to price or volume risk. We remain excited by the pipeline of further opportunities in social and community infrastructure projects across Australia and New Zealand in 2020,” said Savage.