2020 renewables financial adviser rankings
Gergely Kaszasinspiratia reviews 2020 to analyse the most prominent financial advisers of the year in the renewable energy space. The results reveal that offshore wind deals in addition to transactions in the secondary market played a key role in shaping the final rankings
With an aggregate transaction value of US$11.8 billion (£8.5bn €9.7bn) and a total deal count of 4 projects, the top position in the rankings is awarded to BNP Paribas.
Top 10 renewables financial advisers by transaction volume, 2020
Source: inspiratia | datalive
BNP Paribas owes its top position to large offshore wind projects, including the Dogger Bank offshore wind deal. The bank acted as sole financial adviser on the £5.5 billion (€6.1bn US$7.3bn) deal, which concluded in November 2020. This transaction also played a significant role in shaping inspiratia's 2020 legal adviser and lenders rankings.
Macquarie surges to second place with an aggregate transaction value of US$8.7 billion (£6.4bn €7.3bn). In the most recent quarter, the largest transaction Macquarie Capital advised on was the Ferrybridge and Skelton Grange Energy from Waste acquisition. SSE offloaded its 50% stake in the EfW facilities to Australian asset manager First Sentier Investors for a total consideration of £995 million (£1bn US$1.2bn). The Australian financial firm advised the buyer in the deal.
MUFG comes third with an aggregate transaction volume of US$6.9 billion (£5.1bn €5.8bn). The Japanese financial group owes its success to its mandate in three offshore wind projects, namely the Seagreen project in Scotland, and two Taiwanese offshore wind acquisitions, where MUFG advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
In terms of deal count, Macquarie is followed by EY in the second position with 21 deals, and Astris Finance in the third with 16 deals. Europe emerged as Macquarie's strongest market, but the Australian firm also excelled in the Asia Pacific.
Top renewables financial advisers by deal count, 2020
Source: inspiratia | datalive
EY's financial advisory was most prominent in Europe, where the firm provided its services on 16 deals, while Astris Finance was equally successful in Latin America and Europe, with eight deals in both regions.
In Q4 2020, EY advised the sponsors on the £400 million (€440m US$534m) Slough Multifuel project. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and SSE Thermal reached financial close on a new EfW site in December.
Meanwhile, Astris finance worked for Arroyo Energy Group on the refinancing of its Chilean renewable portfolio consisting of the El Arrayán wind farm and the Conejo solar farm. Six international lenders provided an approximately US$400 million (£304m €338.51m) debt package in the transaction.
Top 3 financial advisers by region, 2020
Source: inspiratia | datalive
When analysing the mandates of the top three renewable energy financial advisers by financing type, it becomes clear that acquisitions dominated Macquarie's 2020 pipeline. On the other hand, EY's mandates show a relatively equal split between the three financing types, and Astris Finance excelled in refinancing deals with respect to the rest two advisors.
Top 3 financial advisers by transaction type, 2020
Q4
Macquarie Capital also ranks first in terms of business closed in the final quarter of 2020, while Astris Finance finished the second and EY third. When examining Q4, from a transaction value perspective, BNP Paribas stands out as the top performer due to its role in the Dogger Bank transaction.
Financial adviser ranking by deal count and transaction volume, Q4 2020
