New York, NY – December 19, 2014 – J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Sonnedix announce today that institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management have joined Sonnedix’s management and shareholders in a new 50/50 joint venture platform company, Sonnedix Power Holdings, to pursue opportunities in the attractive, rapidly expanding global solar market.
The joint venture platform currently operates 17 power plants with 117MW of installed capacity across France, Italy, Spain, Thailand and Puerto Rico. It also has a portfolio of 18 projects representing over 600MW of projects in pre-construction stages in Japan, Puerto Rico, Chile, UK and South Africa. The joint venture anticipates a total commitment for the operating and development projects of more than €300 million.
Speaking about the partnership, Matt LeBlanc, CIO of OECD Infrastructure at J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets, said, “These are exciting times in the clean energy market and Sonnedix’s experienced management team, highly focused on execution and operations, is well positioned to benefit from technology improvements, operational efficiencies and economies of scale. These trends result in a lower cost of solar PV energy as compared to conventional fossil fuels, even with the current energy market volatility. As such the operating investments are already generating consistent and growing investment yields, supported by long-‐term contracts.”
Carlos Guinand, Chairman and Director of Sonnedix, said, “As the global solar power industry experiences exceptional growth rates, we are keen to expand further our footprint across multiple regulatory regimes that are at different phases of renewable integration. Our joint venture with J.P. Morgan Asset Management will be integral in capturing these opportunities and building our platform.”
Pan American Finance, Paul Hastings and Mayer Brown advised Sonnedix in the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acted as legal advisor to J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
About Sonnedix
Sonnedix is an Independent Solar Power Producer (IPP) with a proven track record in delivering high performance cost competitive solar photovoltaic plants to the market. Sonnedix develops, builds, owns and operates solar power plants globally. For more information about Sonnedix, please visit www.sonnedix.com
About J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets
J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets has more than $82 billion in assets under management and approximately 400 professionals in the U.S., Europe and Asia, as of September 30, 2014. With a 40-plus-year history of successful investing, J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Global Real Assets’ broad capabilities provide many of the world’s most sophisticated investors with a global platform of real estate, infrastructure, maritime/transport and energy strategies driven by local investment talent with disciplined investment processes consistently implemented across asset types and regions. The Global Real Assets team is part of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Alternatives Investments business, which collectively manages over $120 billion in client assets across real assets, hedge funds, credit and private equity.
J.P. Morgan contacts:
Kristen Chambers, Media Relations
+1-‐212-‐622-‐4111, Kristen.chambers@jpmorgan.com
Daniel Chui, Media Relations
(+852) 28002874, Daniel.wc.chui@jpmorgan.com
Lydia E Cambata, MediaRelations
+44 (0) 20 7742 1041,lydia.es.cambata@jpmchase.com
Sonnedix contacts:
Markus Ganterer, Media Relations
+ 44 (0) 7502314097, markus@sonnedix.com
J.P. Morgan Asset Management is the brand for the asset management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates worldwide. This communication may be issued by the following entities: in the United Kingdom by JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited; in other EU jurisdictions by JPMorgan Asset Management (Europe) Société à responsabilité limitée; in Switzerland by J.P. Morgan (Suisse) SA; in Hong Kong by JF Asset Management Limited, or JPMorgan Funds (Asia) Limited, or JPMorgan Asset Management Real Assets (Asia) Limited; in India by JPMorgan Asset Management India Private Limited; in Singapore by JPMorgan Asset Management (Singapore) Limited, or JPMorgan Asset Management Real Assets (Singapore) Pte Ltd; in Japan by JPMorgan Asset Management (Japan) Limited; in Australia by JPMorgan Asset Management (Australia) Limited ; in Taiwan by JPMorgan Asset Management (Taiwan) Limited and JPMorgan Funds (Taiwan) Limited; in Brazil by Banco J.P. Morgan S.A.; in Canada by JPMorgan Asset Management (Canada) Inc., and in the United States by J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., JPMorgan Distribution Services Inc., and J.P. Morgan Institutional Investments, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC.