Augusta & Co. (Augusta), a specialist financial adviser to the renewable energy industry, has overseen the sale of an 80% stake in Finnish utility firm Fortum's wind portfolio across Norway, Finland and Sweden, accounting for approximately 500MW of operational and construction projects, to funds advised by Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners (CSEIP).

The portfolio consists of three operational wind farms: 32MW and 50MW Norwegian wind farms NygÃ¥rdsfjellet and Ã…nstadblÃ¥heia respectively along with the 76MW Solberg wind farm in Sweden, as well as two wind farms currently under construction; the 90MW Kalax project in Finland and 97MW Sørfjord project in Norway. In addition, Fortum and CSEIP have signed an exclusivity agreement on a new 154MW project in Sävar, Sweden with the ambition to build it at a later stage.

The deal follows a year of considerable activity for Augusta in the Nordics that saw four transactions closed accounting for more than 750MW, in addition to the 500MW Fortum agreement. Overall, it takes the financial adviser to approximately 2.5GW of renewable energy deals advised upon in the region since 2016 - reflecting growing interest and support for wind energy development from both international and domestic investors.

Appetite for wind development in the Nordics remains strong, with new major international investors continuing to enter the Nordic renewables space, enabling regional developers and utilities to build some of the largest unsubsidised wind farms in the world to date. CSEIP is one of a number of sophisticated investors looking to take advantage of the scale offered by the Nordic markets.

Justin Fitzhugh, Partner at Augusta & Co., said; "The Nordic markets remain an attractive proposition as utilities look to 'sell down' and recycle capital to invest in further large-scale projects. As the European market increasingly moves towards a merchant model, the interests of international investors and project developers are becoming increasingly aligned, and we expect to see further significant transactions in the Nordics throughout 2020."

Augusta's transactions completed in the Nordics in 2019 include:

• Sale of a 211MW pre-construction wind farm, Piiparinmäki, to clean energy fund manager Glennmont Partners, announced in October. Augusta acted as exclusive financial advisor to the seller, Ilmatar Energy, a joint venture between Finnish developer Ilmatar Windpower and Capenergie 3.
• Sale of a 95MW pre-construction wind farm, MÃ¥kaknuten, to Zurich utility EWZ, announced in March. Augusta acted as exclusive financial advisor to the seller, Norsk Vind Energi.
• Sale of 220MW Swedish pre-construction project, Harjedalen, to private investment house, Ardian Infrastructure, announced in March. Augusta advised project developer and seller, OX2, throughout the transaction.
• Sale of the operational 213MW JädraÃ¥s wind farm in Sweden by Arise AB and Sydvastanvind AB to UK investment company The Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd. (TRIG), also announced in March. 

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