London, 16 September 2008: HgCapital, the European sector-focused private equity investor, last night picked up the Equity Deal of the Year (Infrastructure) accolade at the Euromoney and Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards. The award was given for the company’s equity investment in the 95.4MW Havsnäs wind farm, Sweden’s largest onshore wind farm, in a transaction which closed in April this year.

The Euromoney and Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards, dubbed the ‘Green Oscars’, take place every year alongside the Renewable Energy Finance Forum (REFF) London. The awards honour the projects, companies and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the global renewable energy sector.

The Equity Deal of the Year (Infrastructure) Award recognises innovation in financing and structuring, rather than on the size of the transaction itself. The €185 million project was the first true merchant project financing of a wind farm in Scandinavia and the largest energy project financing in the Nordic market. Working in partnership with Renewable Energy Systems (RES), the original developer of Havsnäs and one of the world’s leading wind farm developers, HgCapital secured a €127 million, 17-year debt package from CommerzBank, ING Bank and NordLB. This landmark deal has set the standard for future Swedish wind farm financings.  Furthermore, the transaction was closed in a deteriorating credit market with no syndication risk.

Tom Murley, Director and Head of HgCapital’s Renewables team commented:
“We are delighted to be recognised for this innovative, landmark financing.  I want to thank RES for selecting HgCapital as their equity partner and their vital role in securing the support of our banking partners, whose innovation and support we also applaud.  Within HgCapital, much of the credit must go to Jens Thomassen and Jean Perarnaud, who led the transaction with the team at RES. It was a superb team effort and it is extremely rewarding to achieve recognition for our contribution to the Nordics renewables sector.”