Global Infrastructure Partners has agreed to pay AES Andes $441 million for 49 percent of a Chilean renewables portfolio. It is the second time GIP has paid exactly $441 million for 49 percent of an AES Andes portfolio in Chile. The number is the same. What it buys, and when the money actually moves, is not.
Key takeaways
- AES Andes announced on 21 December 2023 that it agreed to sell a 49 percent stake in a 693 MW renewables portfolio in Chile to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $441 million.
- AES Andes receives $333 million of GIP's $441 million in December 2023, with the remaining $108 million invested as agreed conditions are met and the projects under construction reach commercial operation.
- The Chilean portfolio includes the 146 MW Bolero solar park (operating since April 2018), the 238 MW Andes Solar IV plant with a 147 MW battery, the 107.5 MW San Matias wind farm and the 80 MW Andes Solar IIa battery, the last three under construction.
- Grossed up to 100 percent, GIP's $441 million for 49 percent implies about $900 million for the 693 MW portfolio, or $1.30 million per MW, equal to the median of priced Chilean deals Enerdatics records from 2022 to 2024.
- The deal expands a July 2021 agreement under which GIP paid AES Andes $441 million for 49 percent of a 733 MW Chilean portfolio, taking the partnership to more than 1.4 GW of wind, solar and battery capacity.
Why does GIP pay most of the price now and the rest later?
Because most of the portfolio does not exist yet in operating form. Only the Bolero solar park is generating. The other three assets are under construction, and a buyer paying full value for a plant that has not reached commercial operation is paying for completion risk it cannot control.
The structure moves that risk back to the seller. AES Andes gets roughly three quarters of the consideration up front. The balance follows asset by asset as conditions are met and each project starts operating. If a project slips, the cash slips with it. If one fails to reach commercial operation, GIP has not yet funded it.
This is the same mechanism the 2021 agreement used. Back then the vehicle, Chile Renovables, owned only the 110 MW Los Cururos wind farm at signing. It was set to acquire AES Andes' solar and wind SPVs as each came into operation and the agreed conditions were met. Paying on delivery is how GIP has bought into AES Andes from the start.
What does $441 million buy this time compared with 2021?
It buys a different mix at a slightly higher implied price. The 2021 portfolio was wind-led: Los Cururos, Los Olmos, Mesamavida and Campo Lindo, plus the Andes Solar II A and II B plants and 112 MW of battery storage. The 2023 portfolio leans the other way, with two solar assets, one wind farm and two batteries.
Battery capacity matters here. A battery energy storage system, or BESS, stores power and releases it later, which lets a solar-heavy portfolio sell electricity after sunset rather than only when the sun is up. Two of the five assets in this deal are batteries, totalling 227 MW.
On price, grossing up both deals to 100 percent gives about $1.23 million per MW for the 2021 portfolio and $1.30 million per MW now. The difference is modest, and the 2023 figure includes an operating plant that sells its power in Chile's spot market rather than under contract.
How should a buyer read the Bolero solar park inside the deal?
As the merchant element. Bolero sells what it produces into Chile's spot market, so its revenue moves with the wholesale price. Merchant exposure is usually the part of a portfolio that buyers discount.
The rest of the portfolio points the other way. Enerdatics understands that power from the projects is sold under long-term corporate PPAs. AES has reported an average remaining contracted period of 10 years for its Chilean projects. A blended portfolio of one merchant plant and several contracted new builds is easier to finance than either on its own, and that blend is what GIP has bought.
The deal's advisors also reflect the market exposure. Moray Energy Consulting acted as market advisor to AES Andes, and Latham & Watkins was legal advisor to GIP.
Enerdatics' data shows 40 renewable energy M&A transactions in Chile between the start of 2022 and the end of 2024, of which only 11 carry a usable price per MW. Their median is $1.30 million per MW. The three in-construction deals in that set range from $1.13 million to $1.36 million per MW with a median of $1.30 million, and the six operational deals have a median of $1.50 million per MW. GIP's grossed-up $1.30 million per MW sits exactly on the in-construction median. For comparison, Sonnedix paid about $1.32 million per MW for Enel's 416 MW operating Chilean solar portfolio in July 2023, a deal covered in Enerdatics' analysis of the Sonnedix purchase.
What does the deal signal for Chilean renewables?
It signals that Chilean construction risk is being priced through payment timing rather than through a lower headline. GIP pays a market price per MW but only once the megawatts exist. Sellers get capital early. Buyers avoid paying for projects that never finish.
It also signals that minority stakes are becoming a standing funding line for Chilean developers. AES Andes has now sold 49 percent twice to the same partner, keeping control while recycling capital into new construction. The partnership now covers more than 1.4 GW. For a buyer like Global Infrastructure Partners, which has also taken control of US community solar platform Summit Ridge, as covered in Enerdatics' analysis of the Summit Ridge deal, the appeal is scale delivered in stages with an experienced operator alongside.
The thin pricing base is the caution. Eleven priced deals in three years is not a deep market. Each disclosed print, this one included, does a lot of work for anyone valuing a Chilean portfolio.
Frequently asked questions
How much is GIP paying AES Andes?GIP is paying $441 million for a 49 percent stake in a 693 MW Chilean portfolio. AES Andes receives $333 million in December 2023, and GIP invests the remainder as the projects under construction reach commercial operation.
Which assets are in the portfolio?The 146 MW Bolero solar park, the 238 MW Andes Solar IV plant with 147 MW of battery storage, the 107.5 MW San Matias wind farm and the 80 MW Andes Solar IIa battery. Bolero has operated since April 2018; the others are under construction.
How does the price compare with GIP's 2021 deal?In 2021 GIP paid $441 million for 49 percent of a 733 MW AES Andes portfolio. Grossed up to 100 percent, that is about $1.23 million per MW, against about $1.30 million per MW for the 2023 deal.
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)
