North American Windpower: Atlantic Power Completes Acquisition Of Ridgeline Energy, Brings 300 MW Project Online

Atlantic Power Completes Acquisition Of Ridgeline Energy, Brings 300 MW Project Online

by NAW Staff Wednesday January 02 2013

Atlantic Power Corp. has closed on its acquisition of Ridgeline Energy Holdings Inc., a developer and operator of renewable energy projects.

The acquisition increases the company's ownership interest in the Rockland wind project to a 50% managing member interest from 30%, and adds a 12.5% interest in the 125 MW Goshen North project in addition to a 100% equity interest in Meadow Creek. The total cost of the Ridgeline acquisition was $88 million, and includes the purchase of all of the outstanding shares of capital stock of Ridgeline and the 100% equity interest in Meadow Creek.

The purchase price for the acquisition (together with working capital and acquisition expenses) was financed through a firm underwritten public offering, on a bought deal basis, of C$100 million aggregated principal amount of the debentures. Upon the closing of the acquisition, the maturity date of the debentures was automatically extended from March 31, 2013, to Dec. 31, 2019, in accordance with the terms of the debentures.

In addition, Atlantic Power will consolidate approximately $205 million and $43 million of existing nonrecourse project-level debt at Meadow Creek and Rockland, respectively, with approximately $55 million of current Meadow Creek debt to be repaid with a U.S. stimulus grant this quarter.

Atlantic Power also announced that the 300 MW Canadian Hills Wind project has entered commercial operation and that the company closed tax-equity funding for the project and fully repaid the project's $272 million construction loan.

The project received tax-equity investments in aggregate of $225 million from a consortium of four institutional tax-equity investors, along with an approximately $47 million tax-equity investment by the company that it expects to syndicate with additional tax-equity investors this quarter.

Atlantic Power owns 99% of the project, having made a $200 million capital contribution in July 2012. Cash distributions to the company from the project are expected to be in the range of $16 million to $19 million for each full year of operation through 2020, and are expected to increase thereafter.

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