이 기사는 2020년 04월 09일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) and Hana Financial Investment have completed its acquisition of three wind farms in Finland for 190 billion won. They have also successfully sold down the portfolio to domestic institutional investors.

A consortium composed of KIS and Hana Financial has completed all necessary processes to acquire the entire equity interest of three wind parks located north of the city of Oulu, Finland, according to investment banking industry sources on April 3. KIS and Hana Financial agreed to buy three wind parks from Finnish renewable energy developer Taaleri Energia at the end of last year.

The value of the transaction is 190 billion won. Of the total, KIS funded 50 billion won and Hana Financial provided 20 billion won while the rest was financed through a loan.

What is notable is that the two brokerage firms have successfully completed the deal amid unfavorable market conditions due to the worldwide spread of the coronavirus.

KIS and Hana Financial didn’t borrow a loan from local lenders for the acquisition and have sold down the portfolio to institutional investors at home. The brokerages’ sell down process, which was kicked off at the beginning of this year, has reportedly gone smoothly. It is said that Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, DB Insurance and Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance participated in the sell down process. The three institutional investors seem to have taken part, expecting stable and high returns.

The wind farms, Nyby, Myllykangas I and Myllykangas II, have a total of 30 turbines with a combined production capacity of 73.2 MW. They produce enough to supply around 28 thousand homes per year and mitigate 70 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Following the deal, Taaleri Energia will continue to manage the investments under a managed account agreement and serve as the technical and commercial manager of the wind parks.

Finland has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2035, whose overall goal is to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

(By reporters Kim Hye-ran and Kim Byung-yoon)