Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In 2016, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed a £69 million GBP loan agreement with SDIC Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (SDIC Power) to facilitate State Development & Investment Corporation's (SDIC) acquisition of 100% of the shares in Repsol Nuevas Energias UK Limited (RNEUK), a wholly-owned British subsidiary of Repsol S.A., Spain's largest oil company, and shareholder of Repsol’s offshore wind power projects in the United Kingdom. In addition to the ICBC loan, SDIC Power spent approximately £116.4 million GBP to acquire Repsol's British offshore wind projects (as captured via Record ID#89604). The acquisition was announced on February 25, 2016. The acquisition had a total cost of €238 million EUR ($262 million USD; £185.4 million GBP; RMB 1.76 billion), generating a post-tax capital gain of €109 million EUR ($120 million USD). RNEUK owned 100% of the shares in the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm and 25% in the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm, two wind farms located off the eastern coast of Scotland. The equity delivery was completed on May 20, 2016. SDIC Power allowed RNEUK's team to remain as the management of the companies. RNEUK was then renamed as Red Rock Power Limited. With SDIC's takeover of Repsol's shares, the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm reached financial closure on May 20, 2016. The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is located in Outer Moray Firth, Scotland, was planned to be fully operational in 2019 and to generate 664 MW. The Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is located in the North Sea around 15 kilometers off of Angus, and was expected to generate 784 MW. SDIC Power promised it would invest up to £250 million GBP in the Beatrice project after the acquisition, as well as pay an additional £16.6 million GBP to Repsol once the Inch Cape project received a Contract for Difference from the Government of the United Kingdom.
Staff comments
1. "Cross-border Acquisition Finance" from Chinese private law firm JunHe LLP, states that it "[r]epresented a commercial bank in the granting of a £69 million facility to SDIC Power Holdings Co., Ltd. for funding its acquisition of shares in Wind Farm Energy UK Limited". It does not explicitly ICBC as the provider of the loan. However, given that is known for various sources that ICBC provided a loan to SDIC Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and that AidData has identified no cofinancing banks, AidData has determined that £69 million GBP was the face value of the ICBC loan and has coded accordingly. 2. "国投电力17亿正式收购英国海上风电项目" states that the approximate cost of the acquisition in British pound sterling was £185.4 million GBP. Therefore, using the £69 million GBP figure sourced from "Cross-border Acquisition Finance", AidData has calculated the contribution of SDIC Power's own funds by subtracting £69 million GBP from £185.4 million GBP, getting £116.4 million GBP. 3. Repsol Nuevas Energias UK Limited (RNEUK) (also known as Wind Farm Energy UK Limited (WFEUK)), when acquired by SDIC Power Holdings Co., Ltd., was renamed as Red Rock Power Limited. Red Rock's website is as follows: https://www.redrockpower.co.uk/