Under the terms of the deal, Mainstream will receive an initial €40mn corporate-level facility, with provision for an additional €20mn of capital at a future date upon satisfaction of certain further conditions and approvals. The transaction, which remains subject to conditions precedent including Mainstream shareholder approval, brings total equity and corporate debt raised by Mainstream since it was founded in 2008 to over €265mn.
In this current round of fundraising, Mainstream has also raised €16.8mn from High Net Worth Individuals. Furthermore it says it “has appetite to take in additional equity” to further develop its business, including the Energy Bridge project which will export 5000MW of wind power from Ireland to the UK starting from 2017.
“After going through our initial development stage, Mainstream is now embarking on a very strong growth trajectory,” said Mainstream’s Chief Executive Eddie O’Connor. “We have been through a very comprehensive due diligence process and Macquarie’s investment is a clear testament to the confidence they have in our future growth.”
Based in Ireland, Mainstream currently has over 325MW of wind and solar plant going into construction in Ireland, South Africa, Chile and Canada. After winning three government tenders in South Africa last year, construction is due to start on its 138MW wind farm and two 50MW solar photovoltaic plants in the Eastern and Northern Capes. Meantime construction is due to start at its 33MW Negrete Cuel wind farm in Chile and the 46MW Old Man wind farm in Canada. Its first Irish project (9MW wind farm) goes into commercial operation in November this year.
On an even bigger scale, the company has recently submitted a planning application for its 450MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in Scotland and is also progressing two mega-scale offshore wind farms in England and Germany. “We believe Mainstream is uniquely positioned to benefit from the development of the offshore wind sector, which will play an increasingly important part in the generation mix over the next decade,” commented Macquarie Group’s Chief Executive in Europe, Middle East and Africa, David Fass.
The corporate finance facility, which follows a rigorous nine month due diligence process, is Mainstream’s largest single tranche of capital at the Holdco level. Macquarie’s funding follows Barclays Capital whic invested €20mn when the company was established in 2008.