Spain's FCC inks $1.2 billion wind investment

Madrid-based builder Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA agreed today to purchase Babcock & Brown Wind Partners' (ASX:BBW) wind energy assets in Spain for $1.2 billion USD in cash and debt.

FCC said the large investment was part of its broader plan to diversify its business opportunities
and hedge against Spain’s building market slumps.

BBW said the sale of the assets, which represent 17 percent of the company’s total wind portfolio, are expected to yield a profit of some $234 million for the Sydney, Australia-based company.

FCC said the assets include 14 wind farms with a total capacity of 421 megawatts. The deal is FCC's first energy investment since the company said in May that it would diversify its business amid a building market slump in Spain, according to FCC. The transaction includes an additional 45 megawatts of capacity still under development, FCC said.

With the purchase of BBW's Spanish assets, FCC establishes itself as the sixth-biggest set of wind parks in the country. Today, Spain has total wind power capacity of around 16,000 MW, according to analysts.

The terms of the deal involve FCC paying €190 million ($283 million) and assuming €590 million ($879 million) in debt as part of the deal, FCC said.

Currently, BBW has wind farms in Australia, Spain, Germany, France and the United States. Last December, the company completed the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in the Enersis Portfolio of wind farms.

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