In October 2022, Innergex bought out its partner's 30.45% share of 16 French wind farms and became their sole owner. Ten months later it agreed to sell 30% of its French business to Credit Agricole Assurances. The two stakes are almost the same size. The valuations behind them are not.
Key takeaways
- Innergex Renewable Energy agreed on 7 August 2023 to sell a 30% stake in Innergex France to Credit Agricole Assurances, and the transaction completed on 26 October 2023.
- Enerdatics calculates the enterprise value of the 30% stake at about $234 million, based on a $781.3 million enterprise value for the whole portfolio reported by Innergex, with Credit Agricole Assurances' investment valued at $140.8 million.
- The Innergex France portfolio comprises 16 operating wind farms totalling 324 MW, the 9 MW Tonnerre battery, and a development portfolio of four solar projects totalling 119 MW and 16 wind projects totalling 278 MW.
- The operating wind farms mostly hold 15-year PPAs with EDF, with a weighted average remaining contracted period of 7.68 years, and produce about 691 GWh a year.
- In September 2022, Innergex agreed to acquire the remaining 30.45% of the same 16 wind farms at an enterprise value Enerdatics records at $148.06 million.
What exactly did Credit Agricole Assurances buy?
It bought 30% of a whole country platform, not just the wind farms. The stake covers Innergex's operating wind portfolio in France, the Tonnerre battery and a development pipeline of about 397 MW of solar and wind. Innergex's team keeps running the full value chain, from development through construction to operation.
The operating fleet is mature and well spread. The largest farms are Rougemont-2 at 44.5 MW, Yonne I at 44.4 MW, Vaite at 38.9 MW and Rougemont-1 at 36.1 MW, all commissioned between 2016 and 2017. The assets have a weighted average operating life of 7.19 years.
The battery is contracted differently. Tonnerre, commissioned in 2022, holds a seven-year contract for difference with RTE, France's grid operator. A contract for difference, or CfD, pays the owner the gap between a market reference price and an agreed strike price, which steadies its income.
Innergex said it would use the proceeds to pay down its revolving credit facilities and fund future development. A revolving credit facility is a corporate loan line that can be drawn and repaid repeatedly, so paying it down frees borrowing room for new projects.
Why do two 30% stakes carry such different values?
Because one bought only operating wind and the other bought a broader platform at a later date. In 2022 Innergex paid a net purchase price of $70.32 million for 30.45% of the 16 wind farms. Adding its share of the portfolio's $300.71 million of non-recourse debt and netting its $45.38 million of cash gave an enterprise value of $148.06 million. Enterprise value is the price of the equity plus the debt that comes with it.
Grossed up to 100%, the 2022 price values the 324.2 MW of wind at about $486 million, or about $1.50 million per MW. The 2023 sale values the whole French business at $781.3 million. Spread over the 333 MW of operating wind and storage, that is about $2.35 million per MW.
Some of that gap is the battery and the 397 MW development portfolio, which carry value but little or no EBITDA yet. Earnings make the difference clearer. Enerdatics calculated expected 2023 EBITDA for the wind farms at about $55 million in 2022, which puts the 2022 deal at about 8.8 times EBITDA. For the 2023 deal, Enerdatics calculates EBITDA at $48.5 million, from revenue of $81.2 million and operating expenses of $32.68 million reported as of 31 March 2023. That puts the 2023 sale at about 16.1 times.
A simple per-MW figure of $0.32 million should not be read as a market price. It divides the value of a 30% stake by 100% of the 730.2 MW in the portfolio, including capacity not yet built. Grossing up a minority stake is essential before comparing it with other deals.
How does the price compare with other French wind deals?
It sits at the high end on operating capacity. Enerdatics' data shows that of 21 French operational wind transactions Enerdatics records from 2022 to 2024, only 8 carry a disclosed value. Among full-ownership asset sales, Greencoat Renewables paid $123.59 million for 65.5 MW from Axpo in May 2022, about $1.89 million per MW. Pontegadea paid $172.46 million for 158.13 MW from EDF Renewables in June 2024, about $1.09 million per MW. Compagnie Nationale du Rhone paid $12.67 million for Voltalia's 12 MW La Faye farm in December 2024, about $1.06 million per MW.
Innergex's own 2022 purchase, at about $1.50 million per MW, fits inside that range. The 2023 sale only fits if most of the pipeline and battery value is stripped out, which suggests Credit Agricole Assurances paid for Innergex's French growth as well as its operating base.
What does the deal signal for French wind investment?
It signals that financial investors will pay up for contracted French assets that come with an experienced operator. Credit Agricole Assurances takes a minority stake while Innergex keeps control of operations. That structure lets the developer recycle capital without giving up the platform.
It also points to a contract cliff ahead. Several of the older farms reach the end of their EDF contracts soon after the deal: Longueval and Porcien in 2024, and Antoigne and Vallottes in 2025. As those contracts expire, the farms either sign new offtake terms or sell power at market prices, which makes a mature portfolio's value more sensitive to French power prices over time. Similar mature, contracted portfolios have since been the subject of French wind portfolio rotation by long-term public investors, while other buyers keep adding operating French wind farms one at a time.
For Innergex, France was one of several markets where it was recycling and raising capital in 2023. The same summer it closed a large financing for its Boswell Springs wind project in Wyoming. Green Giraffe acted as financial adviser to Innergex on the French sale.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Credit Agricole Assurances pay for its stake in Innergex France?Enerdatics calculates the enterprise value of the 30% stake at about $234 million, based on a $781.3 million enterprise value for the whole portfolio. Credit Agricole Assurances' investment is valued at $140.8 million.
What assets are in Innergex France?The portfolio holds 16 operating wind farms totalling 324 MW, the 9 MW Tonnerre battery, and a development portfolio of four solar projects totalling 119 MW and 16 wind projects totalling 278 MW.
Who buys the power from Innergex's French wind farms?Most of the farms hold 15-year PPAs with EDF, and Bois des Cholletz sells to SICAE-OISE. The weighted average remaining contracted period was 7.68 years at the time of the sale.
Ready to get deal-ready answers in seconds? Try Enerdatics Leap AI and access verified intelligence across M&A, financings, PPAs, projects, and energy market developments through natural language.
.jpeg)
