07.07.2023
TAALERI PLC INVESTOR NEWS 7 JULY 2023 AT 10:00 (EEST)
Taaleri’s international SolarWind III Fund announces its first close at EUR 286 million
The Taaleri SolarWind III Fund, Taaleri Energia’s sixth renewable energy fund, has held a first closing, with approximately EUR 286 million in commitments. The fund is classified as dark green, i.e. an Article 9 fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The fund only makes sustainable investments in projects that contribute substantially to climate change mitigation. The fund also reports extensively on the sustainability impact of its investments.
The first-close investors include the Aktia Aurinkotuuli III Fund, the European Investment Fund, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Taaleri and the Taaleri Energia team. Finnish pension funds, foundations, endowments, family offices and individual investors were particularly strong supporters of the Fund, investing through the Aktia Aurinkotuuli III Fund. With a significant number of investors in active due diligence, it is expected that there will be continued strong demand in future closings.
The fund will be seeded with a portfolio of 50 development projects, which was acquired from Taaleri Energia by the Fund at the first close. As previously announced, Taaleri Group records a profit of approximately EUR 8 million in the second quarter of the year. The sale includes the possibility of an earn-out when the fund’s projects proceed. If these projects were all to reach ready-to-build status, they would represent 7.7 GW of installed electricity generating capacity.
The fund’s investment strategy is to acquire, develop, contract, construct, operate and exit a portfolio of utility scale onshore wind farms, photovoltaic solar parks and battery storage assets. The fund’s target markets are the Nordics & Baltics, Poland, Southeast Europe, Spain and Texas.
“The demand for renewable energy projects across our target markets has increased significantly over recent years, with a marked additional increase in demand over the past 18 months. By securing development projects early we have been able to lock in considerable potential future value for the SolarWind III Fund,” says Kai Rintala, director of Taaleri’s renewable energy business.
Taaleri has one of the largest dedicated wind, solar and battery storage investment teams in Europe. The team is highly experienced in project development, deal sourcing, technical due diligence, transaction execution, construction and operations.
Renewable energy and sustainable development are at the core of Taaleri Group's strategy. Taaleri’s private asset management business focuses on renewable energy, bioindustry and real estate businesses.
“We use capital and our expertise to build a better future, and our renewable energy funds are an excellent example of this. The SolarWind III Fund’s investments will have significant and sustainable positive impacts in the countries and local communities where they are constructed. The renewable energy power and storage plants will generate green electricity for around 1.3 million households, offset an estimated 2.3 million of tonnes of CO2 emissions, reduce air pollution, improve grid infrastructure, create local employment, generate local and state tax revenues and increase energy security,” says Taaleri Group CEO Peter Ramsay.
“Although macroeconomic changes have brought uncertainty and fundraising challenges to our entire industry, we have a world-class product and first-class distribution. I would especially like to acknowledge Aktia, which with its Aktia Aurinkotuuli III fund managed to exceed our expectations and collect a large number of investments from individual investors and Finnish institutional investors, such as foundations, pension funds and associations. This milestone helps us to continue our fundraising work among domestic and international institutions towards the next closings of the fund”, says Mikko Ervasti, Head of Sales at Taaleri Group.
For further information, please contact:
Peter Ramsay, CEO, Taaleri Group, +358 50 343 7493, peter.ramsay@taaleri.com
Kai Rintala, Director, Renewable Energy, +358 40 162 5711, kai.rintala@taaleri.com
Taaleri in brief
Taaleri is a Nordic investment and asset manager with an emphasis on renewable energy and other alternative investments. We channel capital towards economically profitable undertakings that have a lasting positive impact on the environment and society. We have been a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) since 2010, and we joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative in 2021. Taaleri’s vision is to be a Nordic forerunner in alternative investments focusing on sustainability.
Taaleri has two business segments: Private Asset Management and Strategic Investments. Private Asset Management consists of renewable energy, real estate and bioindustry businesses. The Strategic Investments segment includes Garantia Insurance Company Ltd.
Taaleri has EUR 2.5 bn of assets under management in its private equity funds and co-investments. The company has approximately 120 employees. Taaleri Plc is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.