FCC today completed the acquisition of 14 wind farms, as stipulated in the agreement reached on 21 August with Australia's Babcock & Brown Wind Partners (BBW) to acquire its wind farm portfolio in Spain.

This is the first renewable energy deal by FCC, which is controlled by Esther Koplowitz; the acquisition is in line with the Strategic Plan presented on 21 May 2008 by the Chairman and CEO, Baldomero Falcones.

This deal makes FCC the sixth-largest wind park operator in Spain, with annual revenue of 100 million euro and a wide-ranging geographic presence in five of Spain's regions (Andalusia, Galicia, Aragon, Castilla y León, and Castilla-La Mancha). It has the largest portfolio of operational assets not owned by an electric utility: 14 wind farms with a total capacity of 420.7 MW, and an additional 45 MW of capacity under development which is expected to be operational by 2012.
In addition to Olivento's assets, FCC has acquired a 50% stake in IM Future, a company comprising 50 experts in wind power, which will operate and oversee all the acquired wind farms.

Last September, FCC also acquired two photovoltaic plants with an installed capacity of 20 MW. The investment totalled 140 million euro. The plants were connected to the grid that same month, and were therefore able to qualify for the tariff of 0.435 euro/kWh.

The two photovoltaic plants are located in Cortijo Viejo and Sierrasita, in the municipality of Espejo (Cordoba province). The plants span 186 hectares, and the solar modules cover an area of 165,000 square metres; they will produce 38 million kWh per year.

All the energy assets have been grouped into a new business unit called FCC Energía, which will be headed by Eduardo González, General Manager for Energy and Sustainability.

The two plants were built by Espelsa, an FCC Construcción subsidiary dedicated to electrical, photovoltaic and renewable energy projects and installations, and the construction and maintenance of distribution networks and substations.

Financing

The wind park acquisition was funded via a 528 million euro syndicated loan arranged by Banco Santander which was oversubscribed; funding was closed on 25 November.
The other institutions in the syndicate are: La Caixa, BBVA, Caja Madrid, Banesto, Deka Bank, Société Générale, INTESA, Banco Popular, Sumitomo and Rabobank.

The photovoltaic plant acquisition was funded via a 132 million euro syndicated loan, which was completed in a very short period of time.

The banks in the syndicate are Banesto (coordinator and agent), Caja Madrid, ICO and Banco Popular. The loan was signed on 22 December.