Newsec advises on investment to transform into an independent power producer

Newsec acted as exclusive financial adviser to CapMan Infra on a majority investment in Skarta Energy – a joint venture to be established together with its current parent company SkartaNYAB Plc. The joint venture will develop renewable energy projects, with initial focus on solar in Finland and a strategy to develop-to-own and becoming an independent power producer.

Skarta Energy was established in 2021 and has a strong pipeline of mainly solar energy projects with a combined production capacity of over 1.0 GW in various phases. Currently, Skarta Energy is developing its first utility scale solar project in Utajärvi where construction for phase 1 is expected to start in late 2023. Over the next five years the target is to develop and operate c. 500 MW of production, which corresponds to the power consumption of over 20,000 households.

Commenting on the investment, Harri Halonen, Partner at CapMan Infra said:

“We are very excited about this first investment of CapMan Infra’s second infrastructure fund. Skarta Energy is well positioned in its own right to drive the necessary green transition and increase the security of electricity supply within our Nordic home markets. Currently, solar energy accounts for only half a percent of all electricity produced in Finland, a figure which is expected to increase significantly as Finland is targeting to become fossil fuel free by 2035. This has led to strong corporate and consumer demand and support for green electricity. We are very excited to partner with SkartaNYAB to develop the nascent Finnish solar market and build Skarta Energy into a leading independent power producer together.”

CapMan Infra will own 60% of the joint venture Skarta Energy. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2022.

Commenting on the cooperation with Newsec , Harri Halonen continued:

“It was a pleasure working with the Newsec team given their leading expertise in the Nordic renewables space. Their experience with Nordic solar opportunities was valuable to support us in building the investment case, and we now look forward to establishing a leading independent power producer.”

Omid Ashrafi, Managing Partner at Newsec , commented:

“It has been a great pleasure to work with the CapMan Infra team on the process that ultimately led to the partnership with SkartaNYAB. We have seen solar accelerating its path toward becoming a meaningful and complementary part of the Nordic energy mix. It is truly exciting to have the opportunity to be part of the partnerships and platforms forming the new generation of energy companies in the Nordics.”