January 8th, 2024
UniCredit Bank Romania has successfully completed a project finance transaction, offering a total financing of 39.3 million euros to Comcris Energy SRL, a subsidiary of Enery, a Vienna-based renewable generation company. The financing package, has the aim to finance the development, construction and operations of the Sarmasag 51.4 MW DC photovoltaic plant, situated in Salaj County.
Once completed, Project Sarmasag will be a new addition to Enery’s existing 117 MW renewable operational portfolio in Romania. The project will benefit from a long-term Corporate The project will benefit from a long-term Corporate Power Purchase Agreement* with Ursus Breweries (part of Asahi Europe & International), (a unique PPA of this kind in Romania). The project’s construction works are ongoing, with the substation works already completed in November 2023.
UniCredit Bank was assisted by CMS Romania as Lender’s English and Romanian law Legal Counsel. The team, led by Ana Radnev, comprised Andreea Turcu (Senior Associate) and Bianca Radu (Lawyer). AFRY Italy S.r.l.has taken the role of Technical Advisor.
Enery was assisted in this transaction by Clifford Badea Chance Romania as Borrower’s Legal Counsel. The Clifford Chance Badea team lead by Nadia Badea (Partner) was coordinated on the project finance aspects by Andreea Sisman (Counsel) supported by Madalina Mailat (Senior Associate) and Martha Busuiocescu (Trainee Lawyer).
Raluca Popescu, Executive Vice President Corporates UniCredit Bank: “Through its strategy adopted in 2022, UniCredit has maintained a steady course towards playing a central role in facilitating the transition to a sustainable economy in the markets our bank operates in. We are therefore proud to participate as Sole Lender in this transaction that we have structured for our client, Enery. This is a benchmark financing for the green energy sector in Romania, while the Transaction is a significant achievement towards the ESG financing objectives of UniCredit.”
Daniel Sava, Advisory & Specialized Lending Director UniCredit Bank: “We are enthusiastic to deliver solutions for financing the transformation of the Romanian energy system, by putting our banks local and international knowledge and talents in the service of our clients, such as Enery. Similar to other markets where the UniCredit Group has presence, also in Romania, all our decisions and actions have strong ESG fundamentals that became part of our business model. We are committed to increase the share of green lending in our total financing portfolio”.
Cong Ta, Vice President M&A and Business Development Enery:
“The financial close of 51.4 MW PV Project Sarmasag marks a new milestone in Enery’s growth story in Romania and once completed, would nearly double our existing PV capacity in the country. The project follows our strategy of selling reliable, affordable, and long-term green electricity to our customers. We are grateful to our financing partner Unicredit Bank Romania for their strong support and trust in the project. We congratulate our partners on this important milestone, and we look forward to continuing our cooperation and achieving more successes together!”
About UniCredit
UniCredit is a pan-European Commercial Bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. Our purpose is to empower communities to progress, delivering the best-in-class for all stakeholders, unlocking the potential of our clients and our people across Europe.
We serve over 15 million customers worldwide. They are at the heart of what we do in all our markets. UniCredit is organized in four core regions and two product factories, Corporate and Individual Solutions. This allows us to be close to our clients and use the scale of the entire Group for developing and offering the best products across all our markets.
Digitalization and our commitment to ESG principles are key enablers for our service. They help us deliver excellence to our stakeholders and creating a sustainable future for our clients, our communities and our people.
In Romania, UniCredit Bank is one of the main financial institutions, offering high quality services and products for all categories of customers. UniCredit Bank aims to permanently keep the customer at the center of its activities, to be a partner that is easy to work with and to be an active part of the communities in which it operates. The group responds to a wide range of needs of its clients through a network of specialized partners: UniCredit Leasing Corporation, UniCredit Consumer Financing, UniCredit Services, UniCredit Insurance Broker.
About Enery
Enery is an independent renewable energy provider dedicated to supplying its customers with reliable, affordable, longer-term green energy. With a diversified green fleet currently generating almost 450 GWh of clean electricity from 312 MW, Enery is at the forefront of driving the CEE region’s transition to sustainable energy.
The company’s ambitious plans include ongoing development projects with more than 8 GW in 11 countries. With its diverse and multidisciplinary team of more than 25 nationalities, Enery is focusing on developing, constructing and operating renewable energy projects by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into every aspect of day-to-day business.
Corporate Power Purchase Agreement* represents a long-term contract (generally longer than 10 years) for the purchase of energy.