Selling the Merkur offshore wind farm

A consortium including Partners Group, InfraRed Capital Partners, DEME Concessions, GE Energy Financial Services and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) agreed to sell 100% of Merkur Offshore GmbH to APG and The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG). The deal was completed in May 2020.

Merkur Offshore, based in Hamburg, is behind the planning and construction of the 396-MW Merkur offshore wind farm located approximately 45km north of Borkum Island in the German North Sea.

Hamburg-based partner Holger Kraft led the CMS team that advised the shareholders of Merkur Offshore GmbH on all aspects of the disposal of their shares in the wind farm, including project financing. CMS teams in Luxembourg and France provided additional support. CMS had previously advised Partners Group and InfraRed Capital Partners on their original purchase of Merkur Offshore.

“Given the cross-border aspects of the Merkur transaction and the comprehensive legal advice it required, CMS was well positioned to support the transaction from its strategic planning through the negotiation process and ultimately to its execution and closing. We benefited from knowing the background of the wind farm with its legal peculiarities from our previous work with Partners Group and InfraRed Capital Partners back in 2016,” summarised Holger Kraft.

The Merkur project comprises 66 General Electric Haliade 150-6MW turbines and is one of the largest operational offshore wind farms in Germany. It was fully commissioned in June 2019 and benefits from a guaranteed feed-in tariff until 2033. It has a 10-year Operations & Maintenance agreement with GE Renewable Energy for the service and maintenance of the turbines.