Bankinter Investment SGIIC (investment fund) and Plenium Partners SGEIC (asset management firm) have announced the closing of a USD 617 million financing deal backed by a 130 megawatt solar photovoltaic portfolio spread across Spain, marking one of the more substantial renewable energy financing transactions in the Iberian market this year.

Deal Structure and Financial Backing

The financing was arranged through a senior debt model, with CaixaBank acting as the principal financing entity and Abanca taking a significant participating role.

The transaction was designed to optimize the financial structure of the underlying projects and covers assets distributed across mainland Spain as well as the island territories of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

Advisory services for the operation were provided by law firms Cuatrecasas and Garrigues, alongside professional services firm EY.

The Underlying Asset Portfolio

The photovoltaic assets at the center of the deal belong to Helia Renovables IV, an alternative investment vehicle launched jointly by Bankinter Investment and Plenium Partners in 2020.

At its inception, the fund attracted committed capital from investors totaling USD 337.65 million, earmarked for investment in renewable energy. The portfolio currently holds photovoltaic assets in both Spain and Italy, following the sale of its wind energy exposure in April of this year.

The 130 MW portfolio carries an operational track record of more than 15 years and operates under Spain's long-term regulated framework known as the Régimen Retributivo Específico para Energías Renovables, Cogeneración y Residuos, commonly referred to as RECORE. This regulatory regime provides a specific remuneration structure for renewable energy, cogeneration, and waste-to-energy assets over the long term.

A Partnership of Nearly a Decade

Bankinter Investment and Plenium Partners have maintained a working relationship since 2017. That partnership has now advanced to a formal merger of the two management companies, a transaction that has been announced but remains subject to regulatory approval from competent authorities. The merger brings together the teams, management structures, and investment capacity of both firms under a single entity.

The combined platform, once the regulatory process is complete, will manage a diversified portfolio encompassing USD 16.30 billion in assets under management, more than 15,000 investors, exposure across 11 sectors, and operations in 14 countries.

The merger also incorporates the acquisition of a majority stake in pan-European fund manager Access Capital Partners, further broadening the platform's geographic reach across the continent.

Bankinter Investment's Alternative Investment Strategy

This transaction forms part of a broader strategy that Bankinter Investment has been pursuing since 2016, when it began building what the firm describes as a proprietary alternative investment model centered on direct investment in real economy assets.

Over the intervening years, the platform has developed a multisectoral and diversified approach spanning renewable energy, infrastructure, student accommodation, real estate, technology, and private equity, with an expanding international footprint.

The model is built around co-investment with clients and active asset management, a combination the firm says has helped position it as a reference platform for alternative investment in the Iberian Peninsula. The stated objective is to bring this class of assets to a growing number of investors and to facilitate their inclusion in diversified, long-term portfolios.

Market Context

The companies noted that the financing was executed in what they described as a more demanding market environment in terms of both financing conditions and return expectations.

In that context, the transaction was presented as validation of the two firms' track record and their continuing ability to attract financial support for their renewable infrastructure platforms.

The closing of the deal reinforces the standing of Bankinter Investment and Plenium Partners as significant operators in the European renewable infrastructure investment space, a sector where long-term regulated assets such as those underpinning this transaction have drawn sustained institutional interest.

The RECORE framework governing this portfolio provides the kind of long-duration revenue visibility that lenders and investors in infrastructure assets typically require when committing capital of this scale.

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