US-Company Acquires Multiple Biogas Facilities in Italy
In December last year, the North Carolina based Blue Sphere Corp., a clean energy company that develops, manages and owns waste-to-energy projects, has completed the acquisition of four operating biogas facilities in Italy.
The company has acquired 100 percent of the stock of Agricerere S.r.l., Agrielektra S.r.l., Agrisorse, S.r.l. and Gefa S.r.l. “Individually, each fully operational facility generates one megawatt of electricity per hour which is sold to Gestore del Servizi Energetici GSE S.p.A., a state owned company that promotes and supports renewable energy sources in Italy, under a power purchase agreement (PPA) that runs through December 31, 2027,” Blue Sphere reported.
According to the information, the four biogas facilities combined are expected to generate approximately 8.4 million Euro (or the equivalent of approximately 9.24 million U.S. Dollar) in annual revenue. The four biogas facilities combined will generate a minimum of 3.76 million Euro (4.136 million U.S. Dollar) in annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). “The annual EBITDA of each biogas facility is guaranteed by Austep S.p.A, our operating partner and a global leader in waste to energy technology and management,” Blue Sphere said. “The Austep S.p.A financial guarantee is further backed by an insurance policy underwritten and issued by a leading insurance provider.” The enterprise value of these four facilities as stated by Innovatec S.p.A is approximately 24 million Euro. As reported, the company paid 5.2 million Euro plus closing costs to acquire all four biogas facilities including the assumption of certain debt associated with the acquisition of each facility. Fifty percent of the cash component of the purchase price plus closing costs was paid at closing, with the balance due three years from the closing date. Blue Sphere was provided with 2.9 million Euro of capital from Helios Energy Investments to complete these acquisitions.
The company likes to emphasize that these acquisitions represent only four transactions of a pipeline of twenty-five biogas facilities that Blue Sphere is evaluating for acquisition in Italy alone. With these transactions, Blue Sphere has developed a network of brokers, consultants, legal and accounting experts that will allow for further expansion into the European marketplace.
Photo: Blue Sphere Corp.
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