REpower Systems and Denker & Wulf agree to sell one of Germany's largest wind farm portfolios
Hamburg, 4 July 2005. REpower Systems AG and Denker & Wulf AG announced today their agreement to sell one of Germany's largest wind farm portfolios. GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services agreed to buy four wind farms from Denker & Wulf and one from REpower Systems for EUR 135.5 million ($164.5 million), including the assumption of debt. The sale, the second of a wind portfolio by REpower and Denker & Wulf, is subject to satisfaction of various conditions, including governmental anti-competition review.
The wind electricity generation projects - in Grossvargula, Zabelsdorf, Premslin-Kribbe, Falkenwalde and Heckelberg-Breydin (eastern Germany) -
comprise 66 REpower MD turbines, each with 1.5 megawatts of rated power, for total electricity production of 99 megawatts. At the Heckelberg-Breydin wind farm, ten of 18 turbines are generating electricity; the remaining eight are scheduled to come on stream at the end of September of this year. Electricity produced by the wind farms is sold to regional electricity grid operators. Once fully operational, the wind farms will produce enough energy annually to power 60,000 homes and will save approximately 200,000 tones a year in greenhouse gas emissions, measured against equivalent fossil fuel generation.
REpower Systems AG Alsterkrugchaussee 378 22335 Hamburg Deutschland
ISIN: DE0006177033 WKN: 617703 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart
End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 04.07.2005
Issuer's information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad hoc announcement:
"The sale of the wind farm portfolio to GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services proves the positioning of REpower in the wind energy industry, which is also an attractive technology investment for financial investors,"concluded REpower's CEO, Prof. Dr. Fritz Vahrenholt.
Heiko Baumann, REpower's Project Finance Manager for this transaction, added: "This landmark investment by an international player represents the entry of a new class of investors in the German market."
Managing Director Torsten Levsen of Denker & Wulf commented: "Denker & Wulf has again confirmed its position as one of the leading developers of wind energy projects in Germany. We are proud of our work, which now has attracted an institutional investor like GE."
Andrew Marsden, Managing Director of GE Commercial Finance Energy Financial Services' European operations, said: "This transaction represents our biggest commitment to wind energy investment in Europe and supports our strategy to grow in Europe and renewable energy." Energy Financial Services' European Executive Director and transaction leader, Mark Jones, added: "Germany is a key growth area for us because it is Europe's premier wind energy market, with installed capacity of more than 16,600 megawatts."
Contacts: REpower Systems AG
Daniela Puttenat Corporate Communications & Public Relations Tel.: +49 - 40 - 53 93 07- 14 Fax: +49 - 40 - 53 93 07- 37 E-mail: d.puttenat@repower.de
Thomas Schnorrenberg Investor Relations Tel.: +49 - 40 - 53 93 07- 23 Fax: +49 - 40 - 53 93 07- 77 E-mail: t.schnorrenberg@repower.de
End of message (c)DGAP
04.07.2005, 10:05
