MPC Caribbean Clean Energy has launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO) for shares to be cross-listed on the Jamaica and the T&T Stock Exchanges. The company has been formed to facilitate and participate in the renewable energy project investments of MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Fund LLCin Jamaica, T&T, and the wider Caribbean region.
MPC will only invest into the fund, one of only a few infrastructure investment funds specializing in clean energy in the Caribbean with the potential to provide an attractive investment opportunity for institutional and private investors. This is due to the significant growth potential of clean energy in the region.
Martin Vogt, Managing Director at MPC Renewable Energies, the investment advisor to the Fund manager, said: “The majority of the Caribbean countries rely on fossil fuel imports which lead to high electricity prices. Renewable energy, on the other hand, has only played a minor role in the region, even though the conditions for leveraging solar and wind power are ideal.
“Considering the increasing demand for energy renewables are of major importance when it comes to electricity generation, we want to support this trend by investing in a diversified portfolio of renewable energy infrastructure throughout the Caribbean region.
“Our vision is to make the Fund the main investment company for renewable energy in the Caribbean. We have identified a variety of projects which require approximately US$500 million of private investments and that would not only significantly reduce the carbon footprint of pre-existing power generation assets in the region but would also meet our investors’ expected returns. Our pipeline includes clean energy investments in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia, among others.”
Initial investments of the fund include the largest solar park in Jamaica, which will generate enough electricity to supply more than 50,000 people with clean energy at the lowest production costs in Jamaica and the Caribbean. JPS Co. will purchase all electricity for the next 20 years for a fixed price. The solar park required a total investment of US$64 million and is financed by investors and financial institutions from France and the Netherlands.
Tilawind, an operational 21 MW wind farm in Costa Rica, represents the second targeted investment of MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Fund LLC and a co-investor from T&T for a total investment of more than US$50 million. Since 2014, renewable energy in Costa Rica supplied more than 98 per cent of the energy output for the entire nation. The Tilawind wind farm is contributing to this achievement since 2015 while providing an attractive cash yield. The wind farm was financed with a loan from Costa Rica’s largest bank Banco Nacional. The fund intends to double the electricity production of Tilawind in the coming years and to supply more than 100,000 people with clean energy in Costa Rica.
MPC Renewable Energies GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly listed German asset and investment manager MPC Capital AG, is the investment advisor to the fund manager of MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Fund LLC. The investment advisor’s team consists of Martin Vogt, Managing Director, Head of Origination, Renewable Energy; David Delaire, Managing Director, Head of Asset Management, Power & Renewable Energy; and Fernando Zúñiga, Director, Central America and Caribbean of MPC Renewables Panama SA.
The subscription phase for the IPO opened on December 3. Closing is expected for December 14. The offering prospectus and subscription forms are available on the website of the company at www.mpc-cleanenergy.com.
The offering will be marketed by JN Fund Managers Ltd. in Jamaica and First Citizens Brokerage and Advisory Services Limited in T&T as lead brokers. The minimum subscription to the offering is US$500 (or the equivalent of JMD in Jamaica).