La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a long-term institutional investor, and CKD Infraestructura México (CKD IM), a consortium of Mexican institutional investors, announced the acquisition of 80% of a portfolio of eight wind and solar assets owned by Enel Green Power (Enel), a global leader in renewable energy. Following this transaction, Enel will remain the operator and retain 20% of the portfolio.

This is a major investment for CDPQ and CKD IM, a group consisting of Mexican pension fund managers (Afores) XXI Banorte, Afore SURA, Banamex and Pensionissste, as well as infrastructure fund Fonadin. Since the creation of their investment platform in 2015, CDPQ and CKD IM have invested in road and telecommunication infrastructure. With this transaction, they now add the renewable energy sector to their portfolio. 

This new partnership between CDPQ, CKD IM and Enel aligns with the highly favourable conditions in the wind and solar energy sector, as the Mexican government has set an objective to generate 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035.

"This transaction broadens our exposure in renewable energy alongside a leading operator," said Macky Tall, Executive Vice-President, Infrastructure at CDPQ. "By creating a platform with key Mexican partners in 2015, we wanted to be positioned to identify the best opportunities in Mexico, a priority market for CDPQ. This new investment in high-quality assets is perfectly in line with our strategy, and allows us to strengthen our partnership with local pension funds and other major players in Mexico."

"This acquisition marks an important step in the partnership between CKD IM and CDPQ, which will now have a well-diversified investment platform across growing sectors such as renewable energy and transportation," added Eduardo Ramos, General Manager of CKD IM. "Enel is a world-class company with a strong footprint in Mexico, and its expertise in project development, construction and operation makes it a strategic partner for us."

The five wind and three solar projects that make up the portfolio are spread across six Mexican states and represent a total capacity of 1,712 MW, of which 429 MW is operational and 1,283 MW are under construction. 

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec | www.cdpq.com

CKD Infraestructura México | www.ckdim.com