31 May 2024.
Palisade Investment Partners (Palisade) is pleased to announce the successful refinancing of a new $258 million, 10-year debt facility for Intera Renewables (Intera).
Intera’s new long-term debt facility has been 50% underwritten by existing lender MUFG Bank and will be syndicated to long tenor investors in the Japanese, institutional and broader Asian term loan markets. Deutsche Bank AG has provided a cornerstone participation for the remaining 50% and comes into Intera as a new lender to the platform, increasing Intera’s existing portfolio debt capacity.
Established in March 2023, Intera is a large-scale renewable energy platform aggregating five of Palisade’s operational renewable energy assets into a single entity of scale, with a common ownership, governance, management and financing structure. Intera’s focus is on combining long-term value creation through organic growth, with particular emphasis on developing and constructing new renewable energy projects, while at the same time providing investors with stable income returns underwritten by its existing, high-quality portfolio of operating assets.
As part of Intera’s formation, Palisade executed a A$1.3 billion single portfolio financing facility secured against the combined pool of Intera assets, that was structured with enhanced flexibility to utilise debt funding to pursue Intera’s strategic objectives.
Intera’s new 10-year tranche replaces the short-term bridge tranche put in place during Intera’s establishment and has achieved highly attractive pricing and terms, reflecting the strong credit position of Intera and underlying strength of the portfolio’s historical performance under Palisade management.
Palisade Executive Director Simon Parbery said: “The refinancing represents a major achievement for Intera and is a natural evolution of the platform’s capital structure following its establishment. The facility significantly de-risks Intera’s financing profile over the long-term, while at the same time achieving attractive pricing and terms, leading to enhanced equity returns for investors.”
Intera’s portfolio facility continues to leverage the highly contracted and geographically diverse cashflows of the entity, to achieve superior financing terms and significantly enhanced flexibility to utilise debt funding for strategic purposes.
Paul Martin, MUFG’s Head of Project Finance, Oceania said “We are delighted to support Intera Renewables with this innovative refinancing solution that combines our long-standing relationship with Palisade and our ability to underwrite long tenor solutions for distribution across our Japanese, institutional and broader Asian investor base. MUFG has historically been a strong supporter of Palisade’s renewable energy assets, and we look forward to further opportunities to support Palisade’s and Intera’s growth in this sector.”
Rachel Chia, Deutsche Bank’s Head of Project Finance Asia Pacific said “We are pleased to play a significant role in the refinancing of Intera’s portfolio and showcase our capabilities in long term financing. This continues to demonstrate DB’s commitment to sustainable financing and solidifies our relationship with Palisade and Intera”
Intera’s refinancing has been executed in accordance with Palisade’s broader treasury risk management framework, which seeks to manage refinancing risk by targeting diversity of funding tenor and source across the portfolio, enhancing risk adjusted returns to investors.
Palisade’s Renewable Energy Fund (PREF) has a 50% ownership interest in Intera alongside Palisade’s Diversified Infrastructure Fund (PDIF) and co-investors, and has a mandate to invest in both operating and development phase renewables assets in Australia. The fund is currently open to new commitments and aims to provide investors with diversified exposure to assets across locations, technology and offtaker. PREF was established in 2016, with a total return since inception to 31 March 2024 of 12.5% per annum, including 7.1% income.
Intera’s assets include Hallett 1 Wind Farm (South Australia), Snowtown 2 Wind Farm (South Australia), Granville Harbour Wind Farm (Tasmania), Macarthur Wind Farm (Victoria) and Ross River Solar Farm (Queensland), for a combined installed capacity (100% basis) of ~1GW.
Macquarie Capital acted as financial adviser, King & Wood Mallesons as borrower’s legal advisor and White & Case as lender’s counsel in relation to the transaction.
For further information, please contact:
Palisade Investment Partners
Simon Parbery
Executive Director
Ph: +61 405 199 844
simon.parbery@palisadepartners.com.au
(Transaction related inquiries)
Andrew Killesteyn
Executive Director
Ph: +61 404 841 741
andrew.killesteyn@palisadepartners.com.au
(Investor inquiries)
Download the full media release here