A publicly traded Maryland company said it has acquired Old Saybrook-based American Wind Capital for $107 million.
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital Inc. said it now owns a portfolio of wind and solar project land leases. Hannon has also expanded its credit facility by $200 million.
The deal doesn’t include any employees, debt or liabilities. Instead, the existing management and employees of American Wind — which bills itself as the largest private land owner of wind and solar projects land in the country — will form a new company called AWCC Capital LLC, which will originate new transactions, to which Hannon will have first-refusal rights.
American Wind was established in 2008 by several former executives of Essex-based Noble Environmental Power. AWC CEO Charles Hinckley is founder and past chairman of Noble, while Andrew Hinckley was business development director.
The portfolio includes more than 7,500 acres of land leased to three solar projects worth approximately $60 million, Hannon said, as well as a payment stream from 11 additional land leases worth approximately $27 million. A smaller payment stream from 46 land leases is also included.
The projects were developed or are owned by companies such as First Solar and NextEra, and the payment streams come from power-purchase agreements with companies such as Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric.
