Mitsubishi-led consortium acquires Solar Holding for undisclosed sum

Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) led a consortium of companies to acquire Italian solar company Solar Holding for an undisclosed amount.

The consortium includes Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Solar Ventures.

Solar holding operates 19 PV plants in the Piedmont, Sardinia and Apulia regions of Italy with consolidated power generation capacity of 42MW.

As a part of a joint venture, Solar Ventures and MC, manage the origination and the transaction activities while the former provides plant management services.

MC, on completion of the deal, will have acquired a 50% stake in Solar Holding while INCJ and Solar Ventures will own 35% and 15% interest respectively.

MC executive vice president Nobuaki Kojima remarked that the company was looking to further expand its presence in the Italian solar market.

The companies plan to acquire additional PV plants in Italy adding further 100MW – 150MW to their solar energy portfolio.

"Mitsubishi is very active in renewable investments in the world, and we believe that Southern European countries such as France and Italy are good markets for solar business," added Kojima.

Solar Ventures founder and chairman Michele Appendino noted, "Through Mitsubishi’s very extensive worldwide IPP capacity and INCJ’s impressive financial strength and investment capability, this partnership will enable us to leverage our deep knowledge of the Italian solar market and our transactional and operational skills in the sector to jointly create one of the market leaders in Italy."

INCJ president and CEO Kimikazu Noumi added, "INCJ is looking at growth potential of solar IPP business as one of major power sources in global renewable energy market.

"For us, the investment in Solar Holding is a strategic investment with the aim to promote innovation and enhancing the value of businesses in solar IPP of the renewable energy sector."