UAE renewable giant Masdar is set to acquire a c. 50% stake in Spanish power firm Endesa’s solar power installations subsidiary EPGE Solar for AED 3.3 bn (c. EUR 818 mn), according to statements (here and here) released last week. Masdar reportedly outbid US asset manager Apollo for a stake in the Spanish solar energy portfolio, the Financial Times reported.

In numbers: EPGE Solar has an enterprise value of EUR 1.7 bn, Italy’s Enel — which controls Endesa — said. The acquisition will make Masdar a partner in 2.5 GW of renewable energy assets in Spain with the transaction set to close in 4Q 2024.

Ironing out the details: Under the agreement, Madar will acquire 48 operational solar plants with an aggregated capacity of 2 GW, according to the statement. Endesa will assume complete ownership of the energy generated by the solar projects under 15-year power purchase agreements between the two companies. The acquisition also includes a battery energy storage system hybridization developed on the portfolio of plants with up to 0.5 GW of incremental capacity, the statement notes.

And that’s not all: Masdar and Endesa also signed an MoU to explore an alliance that would develop renewable energy projects in Spain, according to the statement. The pair are discussing a wider partnership that would see the UAE firm set up a platform of over 5 GW of solar generation in Spain along with stakes in projects by Enel in Brazil and the US, two sources told FT.

Not Masdar’s first foray into Spain: Masdar’s portfolio includes a 1.2 GW solar plant in the Castilla La Mancha region of Spain, dubbed Almenara, the statement notes.

And part of a wider push into Europe: The renewables giant recently acquired an initial 67% stake in Greece’s Terna Energy as the company seeks to make “big acquisitions” in order to meet its goal of reaching 100 GW of renewables capacity by 2030. It also reached financial close to secure its 49% acquisition of the 476 MW Baltic Eagle wind farm off the coast of Germany earlier in March and finalized the acquisition of a 49% stake in the UK’s 3 GW Dogger Bank South wind farm from German energy giant RWE.

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