Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has provided legal counsel to Volkswind GmbH, a subsidiary of Switzerland’s Axpo Holding AG, in the sale of three French wind farms totaling 72 MW to an Article 9 fund managed by Germany’s EB – Sustainable Investment Management GmbH (EB-SIM). The transaction, expected to conclude in the first half of 2024 pending customary conditions, encompasses wind farms situated in the Centre-Val de Loire, Hauts-de-France, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions of France, specifically the Aiguillettes (18 MW), Berlémont (28.8 MW), and Pâtis aux Chevaux (25.2 MW) sites.
Axpo will continue offering technical and commercial management services for the portfolio post-sale. This aligns with Article 9 fund criteria under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), emphasizing positive societal and environmental impacts through sustainable investment objectives.
As a leading renewable energy provider in Europe, Axpo operates over 100 power plants, including wind, hydropower, biomass, and nuclear energy. Since acquiring Volkswind in 2015, the group has been actively engaged in wind farm planning, development, construction, and management in France and Germany, boasting a total installed capacity exceeding 1,500 MW.
EB-SIM, a subsidiary of Evangelische Bank eG in Germany, specializes in managing sustainable investments for institutional and private investors.
The cross-border WFW Corporate and M&A team, led by Dr. Malte Jordan, Hamburg Partner and Global Energy Sector Co-Head, along with other legal experts, facilitated this significant transaction for Axpo. Jordan emphasized the importance of sustainability in this deal, highlighting WFW’s expertise in major cross-border energy transactions, particularly within the renewables domain.
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