A win-win move with significant benefits, synergies and advantages for both sides, depending of course on each one's business plan, constitutes the deal for AKTOR's acquisition of 50% of DEPA's portfolio of RES and battery projects.In the case of the former, the group acquires a package with a total capacity of 471.1 MW that includes hybrid RES projects with batteries, as well as standalone storage systems, which upon full development are estimated at approximately 370 million euros .
By strengthening its business cooperation with DEPA, it brings closer the goal of a stronger presence in RES and batteries and reinforces its energy footprint, also based on the 3 billion business plan announced by management with a horizon to 2031.
In DEPA's case, the company does collect a significant capital gain for the under-development projects it is selling, while at the same time not parting with operational assets. This portfolio remains intact in its entirety, with all that this implies for the importance it assigns to RES.
At the same time, it reduces to some extent the exposure it had, along with construction costs, while also acquiring a partner to contribute to obtaining the connection terms, that is, to advance the maturation of the projects.
In practice, the transaction concerns all of the projects that have not obtained connection terms: Both the 221.1 MW of photovoltaics with storage systems for which Environmental Terms Approval Decisions have been obtained, and the 250 MW batteries are awaiting the granting of final connection offers.
The existing projects, namely the 80 MW in operation, as well as the approximately 500 MW under construction, remain in DEPA's portfolio. As for batteries, DEPA retains 49% of the portfolio with the aim of joint development with AKTOR.
Although it remains to be clarified, nevertheless according to some information, if the projects included in the transaction materialize, it will most likely be DEPA that will have the energy management.
In such a case, it will “run” the production and the wholesale trading sector of the portfolio that passes into AKTOR's hands, and which, as the latter states, is expected to be turned into projects around 18-24 months after securing the connection terms.
It is significant that during the presentation last June to analysts of its new business plan, management had set as a target the acquisition by the end of 2026 of a package of RES projects with a capacity of 550 MW.
Now, the renewables and battery projects, with a capacity of 471.1 MW that it acquires from DEPA, bring the implementation of the target closer.
The next target for the group is the increase of the portfolio to 1.2 GW, with Exarchou's management making it clear that every new acquisition must also offer double-digit internal rates of return (IRR).
In the same presentation it had announced that it would proceed with the acquisition of batteries in Bulgaria, in order to offset the ever-increasing curtailments suffered by domestic renewable energy projects, for which Mr. Exarchou (and not only him) is increasingly often sounding the alarm over the risk of the emergence of a new generation of non-performing loans.