ANNAPOLIS, Md., Jan. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Capital Energy & Infrastructure ("ACEI") announced today that its growth platform company in Central America and the Caribbean, BMR Energy, LLC ("BMR Energy"), has closed on the financing for its 36 MW wind generation project in Jamaica.
The $62.7 million financing package consists of a $42.7 million senior loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC"), a $10 million senior loan from the International Finance Corporation ("IFC") and a $10 million loan from the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program.
BMR Energy will use the proceeds of the financing together with its investment of $26.9 million of equity, funded by American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS), to construct a new wind farm with a generation capacity of 36.3 MW. The wind turbines will be provided by Vestas Wind Systems A/S ("Vestas"), one of the world's largest wind turbine and engineering procurement and construction ("EPC") companies. Vestas will also plan the construction of the wind farm under a turnkey EPC contract. Construction will start in the first quarter of 2015 and be completed in early 2016.
Mr. Paul Hanrahan, CEO and co-founder of ACEI, said: "We are pleased with the success of the BMR team in bringing this transaction to close, which will provide low-cost renewable power to further reduce Jamaica's need for high-cost oil-fired generation. In addition, we look forward to making further investments in the region."
Power from the project will be sold to Jamaica Public Service Company ("JPS") under a 20-year power purchase agreement. Electricity from the project will be among the lowest cost sources of power available on the JPS system, which is supplied predominately by oil fueled power plants.
ACEI also continues to expand its International Power investment team. Patty Rollin serves as Vice President, responsible for sourcing, underwriting and managing investments. Prior to joining ACEI, Ms. Rollin served as Vice President, Global Project Development, at Silver Ridge Power (previously AES Solar), a company which developed, owned and operated grid scale solar photovoltaic projects. Prior to joining Silver Ridge Power, Ms. Rollin co-founded an energy development consulting practice, Sage Energy Group. From 1984 until 2004, Ms. Rollin worked at The AES Corporation where she helped manage M&A, investor relations, and global project development.
Erica Chang serves as Director, Asia Investments. Prior to joining ACEI, Ms. Chang was a Vice President at Marubeni Asian Power Singapore, the power unit of Marubeni Corporation that manages development and M&A opportunities in Asia. Marubeni is a leading IPP with over 30,000 MW of generation capacity globally. Prior to Marubeni, Ms. Chang worked at AES China Corporation, where she managed M&A opportunities in Asia, and at Fortman Cline Capital Markets, a boutique investment bank covering Southeast Asia.
"We are delighted to have our former colleagues Patty and Erica join our investment team," said Richard Santoroski, Managing Director and co-founder of ACEI. "Their experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as their established relationships worldwide, will be an asset to the team as we traverse the global energy and infrastructure market and locate the best investment opportunities possible."
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure manages investments in global energy infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power distribution and transmission networks, energy transportation assets, fuel production opportunities and product and service companies focused on the power and energy sectors. ACEI is part of American Capital, Ltd.'s (Nasdaq: ACAS) ("American Capital") asset management affiliate, American Capital Asset Management, LLC. For further information, please refer to www.ACEI.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy and infrastructure and structured products. American Capital manages $21 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $80 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC), American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) and American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACSF) with approximately $11 billion of total net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million. For further information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.
ABOUT BMR ENERGY
Headquartered in New York City, BMR Energy, LLC was founded in 2013 to focus on acquiring, developing, owning and operating power and energy related assets in the Caribbean and Central America. The BMR team brings more than 60 years of combined international energy infrastructure development and operational experience.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of American Capital Energy & Infrastructure and its affiliates are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the industries in which American Capital Energy & Infrastructure has made investments.
Contact: +1 (443) 214-7070
Paul Hanrahan, Chief Executive Officer
Richard Santoroski, Managing Director
