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CMS advises Green Genius on photovoltaic project in Poland

18 June 2020

CMS has advised Green Genius, one of the leading developers in the renewable energy sector, on the sale of 41 solar power plants to Aberdeen Standard Investments, a global asset manager. The sale of the solar power plants portfolio, with a total capacity of 40.4 megawatts (MW), is another photovoltaic transaction in Poland supported by CMS. 

Green Genius is part of Modus Group, an international group of companies mainly operating in renewable energy, mobility services and automotive business areas. CMS provided Green Genius with comprehensive transactional advice. The transactional project team involved in the sale of the power plants was led by Rafał Zwierz, partner, head of M&A practice and Olga Czyżycka, senior associate, with support from Joanna Białoskórska, associate, and Natalia Szurnicka, lawyer, from the M&A team. 

CMS is one of the most experienced law firms on the renewable energy market in Poland, both as regards M&A, investments, and regulatory advice in the energy sector. In the last 12 months alone, CMS lawyers in particular advised on:

  • The acquisition of the Zajączkowo wind farm by Green Investment Group from Mitsui Renewable Energy Europe Ltd and J-Power Investment Netherlands B.V.  
  • (ii) The acquisition of a 21 MW wind farm project located in Żary in Western Poland by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management, one of the largest German investors in the renewable industry, from OX2 Wind International AB, a Swedish renewable company.
  • (iii) The acquisition of the Jasna wind farm by Stadtwerke München from WKN, the constructor of the farm, and its subsidiary Sevivon, owned by the PNE Group, which with a capacity of 132 MW is one of the largest onshore wind farms in Poland.
  • (iv) The investment in, and the subsequent sale of, a complex of 49 photovoltaic power stations by Modus Group, a leading developer in the renewable energy sector, to Aberdeen Standard Investments, an asset management fund. The sale of a solar farms portfolio with a total capacity of 45.4 megawatts (MW) is considered to be the largest transaction of this type in Poland to date. 
  • (v) The acquisition by Partners Group, Swiss investment manager of a majority of the shares in the VSB Group, a full-service provider in the renewable energy sector.
  • (vi) Real Assets Advisers on the purchase of 33% stake in Acciona Energía Internacional – owner of 52 renewable energy assets - by AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets and Acciona from KKR.

The CMS team has also recently worked for Signify, a Euronext listed company, in the purchase of renewable energy from Green Investment Group’s wind farm in Kisielice for the purpose of operations in Poland. The agreement was structured as a corporate Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA). It is one of the first agreements of this type concluded in the Polish market, and for the Signify group - its first in Europe.