John Laing agrees sale of Australian wind farm portfolio

(Sharecast News) - John Laing Group has agreed to sell its portfolio of Australian wind farm assets to First Sentier Investors (FSI), it announced on Monday, for AUD 285m (£157m), before disposal costs.
The FTSE 250 company said the sale value represented a small uplift to its book value for the portfolio as at 30 June, and was equivalent to a money multiple on its investment of 1.5x.

Completion of the sales of the assets remained subject to customary consents, regulatory approvals and notification periods, which were expected to be satisfied by early 2021.

The portfolio consists of the group's interests in six wind assets in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, with a total capacity of 514MW, in which John Laing has an aggregate economic interest of 209MW.

Since acquiring interests in these assets between 2015 and 2018, John Laing said it had de-risked the portfolio, achieved key project delivery milestones and been actively involved in putting in place off-take and new financing arrangements.

As at 30 June, the company's total renewable energy portfolio value was £417m.

The divestment represented "material progress" with its strategy to realise fully its renewable energy assets over the next two years, the board explained.

Under the group's dividend policy, shareholders would share in the realisation, with the group set to pay between 5% and 10% of gross proceeds received from the sale of investments on an annual basis.

"We are pleased to have reached agreement to sell our portfolio of wind assets in Australia to FSI," said chief executive officer Ben Loomes.

"These assets play a strong role in supporting the country's energy transition.

"This sale is in line with our commitment to realise assets to maximise value for shareholders, and marks an important milestone in our strategy to realise fully our renewable energy portfolio over the next two years."

John Laing said it would publish a trading update on or around 28 October.

At 0818 BST, shares in John Laing Group were up 0.04% at 293.32p.