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HPF – HMC Affiliate Gulf Pacific Power, LLC to Acquire up to a 25% Interest in Desert Sunlight
Birmingham, Alabama, March 23, 2016 – Harbert Management Corporation (“HMC”) is pleased to announce that its affiliate investment fund Gulf Pacific Power, LLC (“GPP”) has entered into definitive agreements with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (“SCOA”) to acquire up to a 25% ownership interest in Desert Sunlight Investment Holdings, LLC (“Desert Sunlight”). Desert Sunlight owns two solar photovoltaic power generation facilities totalling 550 MWac located 60 miles east of Palm Springs, in eastern Riverside County, CA. The two facilities began commercial operations in late 2014, selling all of their output to Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison under long-term contracts.
GPP was formed to make equity investments in North American power assets and is backed by commitments from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”) and HMC affiliates. Desert Sunlight is the third investment for GPP, and follows earlier acquisitions of ownership interests in Northern Star Generation, a portfolio of seven electric generation facilities with a combined net capacity of 1,251 MW, and Astoria Energy II, a 575 MW combined cycle power plant in New York City.
“We are proud to be involved in Desert Sunlight. It is one of the premier contracted, renewable energy assets in North America,” a spokesman for HMC said. “As one of the newest and largest solar power facilities in North America, Desert Sunlight will play an important role in helping California meet its goals of clean and reliable energy for many years to come. ”
“As a partner from construction through commercial operation of the Desert Sunlight project, we are incredibly pleased with the success of the operation as one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the United States. We believe the team at GPP will be an excellent partial owner of the project as it continues to make its important contributions in renewable energy,” said Teru Miyazaki, Head of SCOA’s Environment & Infrastructure Business Group.
K&L Gates acted as legal counsel to GPP for the transaction. SCOA was advised by BofA Merrill Lynch and Chadbourne & Parke, LLP.
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