Entek Elektrik hydro debt priced to appeal
Signed last week, the long term acquisition facility backing Entek Elektrik’s TRY1.28 billion ($320 million) successful bid in the privatisation of Turkey’s 124MW Menzelet and 54MW Kilavuzlu hydropower projects was priced to appeal to lenders.
Awarded to Entek in September 2017, the 49-year concession is for the operating rights to both plants. The deal almost doubles Entek’s capacity to 422 MW and is the largest hydropower acquisition by a domestic investor in Turkey to date. The Menzelet project will immediately sell power on the open market, but the Kilavuzlu plant has five years left on a feed-in tariff.
The TRY1.05 billion-equivalent dual-currency financing comprises both fixed and floating rate 13-year debt split between dollars and lira. The dollar tranche, which is roughly $105 million, is being provided by the EBRD, UniCredit and ICBC on a club basis. The locally denominated tranche lenders are EBRD (TRY79 million), Garanti (TRY190 million), Isbank (TRY190 million) and Akbank (TRY190 million).
Pricing on the fixed rate debt is 17%, and on the floating rate debt, 375-400bp over three-month Tribor.
