CMS has advised Privredna Banka Zagreb on refinancing and acquisition financing for the Danilo and Rudine wind farms. Kovacevic Prpic Simeunovic has advised buyer Professio Energia on the acquisition, financing, and refinancing the existing loans from the IFC and Unicredit Bank Austria. Schoenherr advised the sellers, Mirova and RP Global. Ostermann & Partners and White & Case advised the IFC and Unicredit.
According to Schoenherr, "Danilo and Rudine, which are among the largest wind farms in Croatia, were Mirova's first investments in the country, where the electricity mix is composed of 40% fossil fuels (mainly oil and gas). Since their commissioning in 2014 and 2016, the Danilo and Rudine wind farms have produced on average more than 165 gigawatt-hours of green electricity each year, saving the equivalent of more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and providing electricity to more than 40,000 people in Croatia."
Professio Energia is a Zagreb Stock Exchange-listed renewables company, owned by Croatian institutional investors: Erste pension fund, PBZ pension fund, and Croatia Osiguranje.
Mirova is a French management company focusing on sustainable investments and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers. RP Global is an independent power producer with headquarters in Austria and Madrid.
"We are proud to announce the acquisition of two operating wind farms in Croatia and to be able to warmly welcome Danilo and Rudine to Professio’s operating assets family," Professio Energia Managing Director Mario Klaric commented. "This transaction marks an important milestone in the implementation of Professio’s growth and development strategy. More than that, we strongly believe that this transaction has the potential to become the first step in a long-term partnership between Mirova, RP Global, and Professio Energia in sustainable investing in the region of southeast Europe. Together with our shareholders, we have ambitious plans for future ESG investments thus contributing to the green transition of Croatia and the complete SEE region."
The CMS team included Partners Jelena Nushol Fijacko, Sandra Lisac, Marija Musec, and Attorney-at-Law Relja Rajkovic.
The Schoenherr team included Partner Luka Lopicic, Attorneys-at-Law Ivan Einwalter, Kresimira Kruslin, Ozren Kobsa, Petra Santic, and Ksenija Sourek, and Associate Alan Vuckovecki.
The KP&S team was led by Managing Partner Dinka Kovacevic and included Attorneys-at-Law Ignacija Puskar and Anamaria Zuvanic, and Attorney Trainees Dino Zivkovic and Ivan Bozo Zec.
The Ostermann & Partners team was led by Partner Vjekoslav Ivancic.
The White & Case team consisted of Partner Jonathan Weinberg and Trainee Solicitor Jake Seal.