M&A WATCH- Elsewedy Electric looking to acquire four Greek renewable energy outfits in EUR 55 mn transaction: Elsewedy Electric has entered into a EUR 55 mn agreement to acquire three wind assets and one hydroelectric company from Greece’s R.F. Energy. All four assets are in Greece, Elsewedy said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. The National Bank of Greece will fund up to 75% of the project via a ring-fenced project finance facility. Elsewedy Electric confirmed in May that it had received a EUR 42 mn loan from the NBG without stating what the funding would be used for. It is expected that the agreement will be completed by 28 June.

The move will make Elsewedy one of the top producers of renewable energy in Greece, CEO Ahmed Elsewedy said. The assets have a combined power generation capacity of 63.6 MW — enough to power 34k homes. They operate on fixed-tariff power-purchase agreements with 12-20 years left to run.

Background: The transaction, if completed, would mark Elsewedy’s second independent power producer project in the EMEA region after its USD 75 mn investment in a solar power facility in Benban. The company announced last year a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and Japan’s Marubeni to invest USD 900 mn in wind parks in Egypt. In April, Siemens Gamesa selected the Elsewedy-Marubeni consortium to launch the first phase of a wind power project in Ras Ghareb.