Natixis to provide long-term project financing for the design, construction, and operation of the Gemini offshore wind project in the Netherlands

PARIS, 28-5-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Natixis will provide long-term project financing for the design, construction, and operation of the Gemini offshore wind project in the Netherlands, the largest ever project financed transaction to close in the offshore wind sector.

Project Gemini is a 600 MW offshore wind farm located in the Dutch North Sea at a 85km distance from shore. It was developed by Typhoon Offshore B.V. and will be owned by Northland Power Inc. (60%), Siemens Financial Services (20%), Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors BV (10%), and N.V. HVC (10%, a joint venture of 48 Dutch municipalities and 6 water regulatory authorities). Northland has taken a lead role in completing the remaining outstanding development activities since joining the project in August 2013 and will continue this active leadership role throughout construction and operations.

During construction, Siemens will supply and commission the turbines while Van Oord will be responsible for installation, grid connection and off-shore/onshore sub-stations. During operations, Siemens will act as operator under a 15-years full-scope O&M contract.

Project Costs amount to EUR 2.8 billion and will be financed through EUR 2.1 billion of Senior Debt, out of which: EUR 843 million of Commercial Facilities, EUR 200 million of EIB Facility, and EUR 930 million of ECA Facilities themselves funded by both EIB and commercial banks and benefiting from insurance covers from the Export Credit Agencies of Denmark (EKF), Germany (Euler Hermes) and Belgium (Ducroire).

Natixis acts as Mandated Lead Arranger, Bookrunner, Hedging Bank and Market Due Diligence Bank within a club-deal of nine Mandated Lead Arrangers. The closing of this transaction confirms Natixis strong positioning as a reference player in the financing of renewable projects, notably in the high-growth sector of offshore wind with many projects currently under development in Europe. Natixis also reaffirms its expertise in the field of large-scale multi-sourced export finance transactions.

About Natixis
Natixis is the corporate, investment and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, the 2nd-largest banking group in France with 21% of total bank deposits and 36 million clients spread over two networks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne.

With around 15,000 employees (excl. financial stakes), Natixis has a number of areas of expertise which are organized in three main business lines: Wholesale Banking, Investment Solutions and Specialized Financial Services.

A global player, Natixis has its own client base of companies, financial institutions and institutional investors as well as the client base of individuals, professionals and small and medium-size businesses of Groupe BPCE’s two retail banking networks.

Listed on the Paris stock exchange, it has a solid financial base with a CET1 capital under Basel 3 (1) of €12.7 billion, a Basel 3 CET1 Ratio(1) of 10.6% and quality long-term ratings (Standard & Poor’s: A / Moody’s: A2 / Fitch Ratings: A).

(1) Based on CRR-CRD4 rules published on June 26, 2013, including the Danish compromise – no phase-in except for DTAs on loss carry forwards

Figures as at March 31, 2014

Natixis is a recognized player in the infrastructure space and has notably obtained the following rankings in 2013:
#1 Arranger in France for PPP, Concessions or DSP by Le Magazine des Affaires
#1 Financial Advisor to sponsors in France by Décideurs
#3 Infrastructure Bank of the Year in Europe by Infrastructure Investor
#15 Global MLA for Project Finance by Thomson Reuters
More information on Natixis infrastructure expertise available on:
http://cib.natixis.com/infrastructure

Press Contact :

Andrea Pucnik
Natixis +33 1 58 32 01 03
andrea.pucnik@natixis.com