Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”) on the sale of its 24.45% stake in the two German offshore wind assets Hohe See and Albatros to the Canadian diversified energy company Enbridge. CPP Investments acted in this transaction through its wholly owned subsidiary CPPIB Renewables Europe S.à r.l.
Clifford Chance already advised CPP Investments in 2020 on the financing of its investments in the German offshore assets Hohe See and Albatros by issuing a series (Gesamtemission) of German law governed registered notes (Namensschuldverschreibungen) in the aggregate amount of €510,600,000 to multiple noteholders. As part of the transaction with Enbridge, the outstanding principal amount under such registered notes is now assumed by and pushed down to an entity wholly owned by Enbridge after the completion of the transaction.
The two wind farms Hohe See and Albatros are located approximately 100 kilometres from the German North Sea coast and began operating in 2019 and 2020 as a joint venture together with EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG. Together, the wind farms produce a combined 2.5-million-megawatt hours of electricity, supplying energy to more than 700,000 households. CPP Investments acquired its interests in the assets as development projects from Enbridge in 2018 as part of a broader renewable power partnership that continues in other areas of Europe and North America.
CPP Investments is an investment manager that manages the Fund in the best interest of the more than 21 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan. Headquartered in Toronto, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. On 30 June 2023, the Fund totalled $575 billion.
Florian Mahler, partner at Clifford Chance: “This is a great achievement for all parties involved and a great showcase of our strong capabilities and integrated team approach in the energy and energy transition sector in Germany and globally.”
The Clifford Chance team for CPP Investments was led by partners Florian Mahler (Global Financial Markets) and Dominik Heß (Corporate/M&A) and further comprised counsel Nicolas Cookson (Global Financial Markets) and associate Marius Fritz (Global Financial Markets and Corporate/M&A, all Düsseldorf), partner Jonathan Dillon and senior associate Ivo Basoski (both Corporate/Private Equity, London), partner Mathias Elspaß, counsel Zaid Mansour and associates Laura-Isabell Dietz and Duy Tuong Huynh (all Corporate/Energy, Düsseldorf), partner Dominik Engl and associate Tim Ladewig (both Tax, Frankfurt), as well as partner Martin Wurth (Luxembourg) and lawyer Federica Gamen (both Global Financial Markets, London).
