F2i acquires wind farms in Northern Spain with Crédit Agricole Assurances and the power distribution company EVM from the Villar Mir Group
F2i, Italy’s leading infrastructure fund, and Crédit Agricole Assurances have signed an agreement to acquire from the Villar Mir Group wind farms in operation (53 Megawatts of capacity) and wind projects at an advanced stage of development (430 Megawatts of capacity), located in Northern Spain. F2i, through Fund V – Fondo per le Infrastrutture Sostenibili, will acquire 60% of the wind power portfolio and the remaining 40% will be held by Credit Agricole Assurances, F2i’s existing partner in the EF Solare Italia Group. The seller Villar Mir is a historic Spanish conglomerate operating in 31 countries in the real estate, metalworking, power generation and construction sectors.
For F2i and Crédit Agricole Assurances, the investment marks an important further development milestone in the Spanish market, within the framework of a deep-rooted presence in the sector of power generation from renewable sources. F2i, through its subsidiaries EF Solare and Sorgenia, operates in Italy with over 1,300 Megawatts of wind, photovoltaic and plant biomass installed capacity and in Spain, through the company Renovalia, acquired in 2019 and controlled by EF Solare, with a photovoltaic installed capacity currently equal to approximately 200 Megawatts and projects under construction or at an advanced development stage for an additional 1,200 Megawatts.
The geographical expansion of generation from renewable sources allows F2i and Crédit Agricole Assurances to diversify the regulatory and market risk and, at the same time, seizes the opportunities provided by the Spanish market characterised by abundant natural resources, both in terms of solar and wind power, wide availability of land in a rural context of low population density, and straightforward and effective regulatory framework and authorisation processes.
Together with the wind power portfolio, F2i will also acquire a 40% stake in EVM, a retail electricity company, from the Villar Mir Group and a short-term option to acquire the remaining 60% stake, laying the foundations for the development of an integrated business in the electricity sector also outside Italian borders.
The above transaction represents the fourth investment of Fondo per le Infrastrutture Sostenibili (Fund V), which, since its launch a year ago, has already raised around EUR 1.3 billion, out of a target of EUR 1.5 billion. The other investments of Fund V include Ita Gas Storage (gas storage), Relife (circular economy and recycling) and Althea (social-healthcare infrastructure).
The investment meets the stringent sustainability requirements that guide the actions of Fondo per le Infrastrutture Sostenibili, whose approach to sustainability is based on identifying companies operating in the infrastructure sector that can combine industrial growth and continuous improvement in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) context. The development of alternative and renewable sources of energy falls squarely within these objectives.
With this investment, Fondo per le Infrastrutture Sostenibili contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG 7)
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation (SDG 9)
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG 12)
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (SDG13)
Renato Ravanelli, CEO of F2i Sgr, commented as follows: “With this transaction, F2i Sgr takes an important step towards consolidation in the renewable energy market in Spain, where the Fund has been active since 2019 with the photovoltaic operator Renovalia. The acquisition of Villar Mir’s wind farms complements the solar power activities in one of the most promising renewable energy markets in Europe and lays the foundations for a European renewable asset portfolio, which is increasingly strategic in the current macroeconomic and geopolitical context”.
Philippe Dumont, CEO of Crédit Agricole Assurances, said, “We are very enthusiastic to develop a new partnership with F2i following our common investments in Italy. This new acquisition in the renewables will benefit from Renovalia’s know-how as a developper of greenfield projects. This investment is fully in line with Crédit Agricole Group’s commitments in favor of the climate and will contribute to reach our objective of 14 GW of installed capacity by 2025”.
New step in the sale of La Médicale, Crédit Agricole Assurances’ healthcare professional insurance subsidiary, to Generali
Crédit Agricole Assurances and Generali signed yesterday the sale agreement for La Médicale by Crédit Agricole Assurances to Generali. This operation is accompanied by the sale by Predica to Generali Vie of the portfolio of death guarantees marketed by La Médicale.The sale of La Médicale to Generali responds to Crédit Agricole Assurances’ desire to focus on the development of its bancassurance model, a vector of significant synergies with the other entities of the Crédit Agricole group. As a universal bank-insurer and a major player in health, Crédit Agricole Assurances wishes to strengthen its offer in this area to all of its customers via the Group’s local banks.
This sale for an amount of €435 million, subject to price adjustments at the time of the sale, is scheduled within 2022. It will have a marginal impact on the solvency of Crédit Agricole Assurances and will not have a significant impact on the solvency ratios of Crédit Agricole S.A. The positive impact on the Crédit Agricole Assurances’ net income group share at the time of the sale will be more than €100 million.
The completion of this transaction remains subject to obtaining the authorizations of the competent regulatory and competition authorities.
Crédit Agricole Assurances to buy stake in Edison Renewables
Edison and Crédit Agricole Assurances announce the signing of an agreement whereby Crédit Agricole Assurances participates in the development of wind and photovoltaic production of Edison Renewables with a 49% stake in the company.The transaction values Edison Renewables more than 2 billion euros.
Edison maintains the company’s business and governance full control and will lead its development in renewable energies in line with the decarbonisation targets fixed by Italian PNIEC (National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan) and European Green Deal. Edison will continue to fully consolidate Edison Renewables, which has renewables assets for a total capacity of 1.1 GW, of which approximately 1,000 MW of wind farms located in the windiest areas of the country.
Through this transaction, Crédit Agricole Assurances, fully in line with Crédit Agricole Group’s commitments in favor of the climate, becomes Edison Renewables’ long-term financial partner, recognizing the strength of the company’s business development plan and sharing its commitment to the decarbonisation challenges. Edison reinforces its role as a responsible player and leader in the Country’s energy transition with a business plan that leverages on renewable energies along with energy efficiency, sales and services for end customers as well as the gas and green gas business.
“We’re proud to announce a long-term partnership with a player who recognizes and supports our business plan in renewables – said Nicola Monti, Edison CEO -. Through this collaboration we speed up our investments in Italy by implementing the robust pipeline of projects under development and contributing to the Country’s energy transition”.
Philippe Dumont, Crédit Agricole Assurances CEO, said: “We are proud to support the italian energy transition policy with Edison. Fully in line with Crédit Agricole Group’s commitments in favor of the climate, this new partnership and investment will help Crédit Agricole Assurances to strengthen its presence in the energy transition. This acquisition will also contribute to our objective to increase our investments in renewable energies and reach an 11 GW installed capacity by 2025.”
The closing is not subject to conditions precedent and is expected by the end of the year.
Credit Agricole Assurances and Europ Assistance sign a strategic partnership agreement for Assistance in the french market
Crédit Agricole Assurances and Europ Assistance have signed a partnership that will result, in January 2021, in Crédit Agricole Assurances’ non-life subsidiary, Pacifica, taking a 50% stake in the capital of Europ Assistance France, the main services company that groups Europ Assistance’s expertise and resources in the French market.
As from January 2022, Crédit Agricole Assurances and its subsidiaries will entrust all their assistance activities in France to Europ Assistance, which will become the assistance partner of all Crédit Agricole’s insurance companies (Predica, Pacifica, CAMCA, La Médicale).
Through this partnership between France’s top bankinsurer and one of the world leaders in assistance, Europ Assistance France aims to strengthen its position as the benchmark assistance services company in France in terms of customer experience, service quality and innovation at the service of all its partner customers and individuals. For Crédit Agricole Assurances the aim is to expand its services offer. Assistance services fit perfectly with the Crédit Agricole group’s goal of caring for its customers at each and every moment of their lives.
On the occasion of this partnership, Crédit Agricole Assurances and Europ Assistance confirm that Europ Assistance France’s priority strategy will be to serve existing and future external customers with the degree of excellence that has always been part of its DNA.
Completion of the operation, scheduled for early January 2021, is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.
Antoine Parisi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Europ Assistance, says: “Crédit Agricole Assurances is widely known for the importance it gives on service quality. The fact that it has chosen Europ Assistance to serve its customers in their moments of distress is a major mark of confidence in the staff of Europ Assistance who have made the quality of service their priority. This partnership between our two groups also reflects our shared values, centred on caring for people.”
“We are confident that Europ Assistance France’s management can make this partnership a success and develop the activity in all segment of the market. Assistance services are evolving and adapting to higher customer expectations by developing new services, both for dealing with emergency situations and on demand. Europ Assistance France’s expertise and the quality of its services make it an ideal partner for achieving the Crédit Agricole group’s customer service and customer relationship goals. We will continue to place great importance on ensuring that this partnership continues, on a long-term basis, to serve customers from outside the Crédit Agricole group” said Thierry Langreney, Deputy CEO of Crédit Agricole Assurances and CEO of Pacifica.
Crédit Agricole Assurances joins forces with Banque des Territoires and Groupama to develop its renewable energy investment company alongside Engie
Crédit Agricole Assurances, Banque des Territoires and the Groupama Group announced that they signed an agreement under which Banque des Territoires and Groupama will enter the capital of Predica Energies Durables (PED), Crédit Agricole Assurances’ dedicated subsidiary for investments in renewable energy production assets alongside Engie, the French market leader for solar and wind power generation. Following this transaction, the two new investors will respectively hold 22% and 18% of PED’s capital, with Crédit Agricole Assurances remaining PED’s majority shareholder with 60% of its capital.
Created in 2014, PED is Crédit Agricole Assurances’ investment vehicle for its strategic partnership with Engie to jointly hold onshore wind and solar assets in France. This partnership, with a total installed base of around 2GW at end-2019, represents the largest platform for operational renewable assets in France.
The arrival of Banque des Territoires and the Groupama Group alongside Crédit Agricole Assurances will make it possible to further strengthen the partnership, increasing the capacity for investment of PED, France’s leading institutional investor in renewable energies.
“The development of renewable energies is in line with the 2°C roadmap. As a responsible investor, we want to contribute, through our investments, towards achieving this goal. Our partnership with Engie represents a major operation for this strategy. To enable it to deploy its full potential, we are delighted to welcome on board Groupama and Banque des Territoires, two long-term investors who share our commitments”, explains Jean-Jacques Duchamp, Deputy CEO of Crédit Agricole Assurances.
“As a mutual insurer and responsible investor, the Groupama Group is firmly focused on climate change as one of its core commitments. We are delighted and proud to be contributing in this way to the development of renewable energies in France”, confirms Mikaël Cohen, Group Chief Investment Officer of Groupama.
“We are investing in renewable energies in order to put in place the financial resources needed to make concrete progress with the energy transition towards more sustainable regions. This partnership is part of this ambition: with Crédit Agricole Assurances and Groupama, Banque des Territoires is supporting Engie and making it possible to produce more renewable energies in France”, declared Olivier Sichel, Director of Banques des Territoires.
These three signatories of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Crédit Agricole Assurances, Caisse des Dépôts for Banque des Territoires and Groupama, take environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into account in their investment decisions. This outstanding transaction once again illustrates their shared commitments in relation to these major challenges.
The transaction’s close is expected by December 2019, subject to the usual conditions being met in this area.
ABANCA and Crédit Agricole Assurances announce they have signed a partnership for the creation of a property and casualty insurance company aimed at the Spanish and Portuguese market
– The new joint venture will be based in Galicia and will combine ABANCA’s knowledge of the customer base with Crédit Agricole Assurances’ technical and product expertise.
– This agreement will see Europe’s leading bancassurer team up with the Galician financial institution as part of a long-term arrangement.
– The new company will take a disruptive approach to develop technological solutions tailored to the needs of its customers and to expand its activity.
ABANCA and Crédit Agricole Assurances are today announcing the signature of a 30-year partnership agreement to carry out property and casualty insurance activities in Spain and Portugal. Under this agreement, Europe’s leading bancassurer will team up with the financial institution to create a 50/50 joint venture offering innovative products that draw on stand-out technological solutions and customer experience. The alliance will combine ABANCA’s customer knowledge with Crédit Agricole Assurances’ acquired scale on the European insurance market.
The press conference was attended by Crédit Agricole Assurances’ Chief Executive Officer and Head of International Insurance, Frédéric Thomas and Guillaume Oreckin, and ABANCA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez and Francisco Botas Ratera.
“To achieve our growth objectives, we need to work with a powerful industry player that can complete our strengths”, said Juan Carlos Escotet Rodríguez, Chairman of ABANCA.
“Crédit Agricole Assurances is an ideal candidate, not only because it is a benchmark player in Europe’s insurance sector but also because of its product knowledge, digital expertise and capacity to explore new commercial opportunities.”
“The alliance between Crédit Agricole Assurances and ABANCA, an innovative player on its market, is a perfect illustration of the potential of our bancassurance model, which can be applied internationally through partnerships outside the Group, as we have already demonstrated in the past. We believe strongly that our “100% human 100% digital” approach will offer customers the choice of accessing financial services through any channel, from the most traditional to the most innovative. This partnership fits perfectly with the ambitions set out in Crédit Agricole’s new Medium-Term Plan aimed at strengthening our international activity”, concludes Frédéric Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Crédit Agricole Assurances.
The new joint venture will target individual customers and corporate clients with revenue under two million euros. Its economic model will hinge on expertise in customer needs, the creation and marketing of simple and innovative products, self-service subscription, and omnichannel distribution that prioritises digital solutions.
Strategic reorganisation and innovation
Insurance has been a strategic activity for ABANCA since it began operations in 2014. As part of its transformation process, it has succeeded in reorganising the structure and reformulating the economic model of this sector, which has made it one of the most dynamic, profitable and solvent players on the Spanish market. Among its many key achievements is the launch of pioneering products such as the flat rate and ON-OFF insurance solutions, and the integration of insurance in the ABANCA mobile banking services app, one of the highest rated banking apps by users in Spain.
Crédit Agricole Assurances’ banking advisor for this transaction is Arcano Partners and its legal advisor is Linklaters. ABANCA’banking advisor for this transaction is BNP Paribas as financing bank, legal advisor is Uría Menéndez and its strategy consulting advisor is the Boston Consulting Group.
The transaction will be finalised once approval has been obtained from the competent authorities.