INTERNATIONAL law firm CMS has advised Ocean Winds, a 50-50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, on the sale of a 16.6% stake in the 950 MW Moray East Offshore Wind Farm (Moray East), to Equitix Investment Management Ltd (“Equitix”).
Located in the Moray Firth off the coast of Scotland, Moray East generates clean energy for more than 1.43 million Scottish households and businesses and has been in operation since 2022. The transaction will allow Ocean Winds to continue investing in its additional 5GW of offshore wind projects in Scotland, which include Moray West Offshore Wind Farm and Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm in the Moray Firth, and Arven Offshore Wind Farm in Shetland.
Following the transaction, Ocean Winds will continue to hold a 40% stake in Moray East and manage the daily operations of the project from its Operations and Maintenance base in Fraserburgh.
Charles Currier, Co-head of Corporate at CMS UK and lead partner on the transaction, comments: “We are delighted to have supported key client Ocean Winds on this strategic partnership. This transaction is further evidence of the continued viability of clean energy projects and demonstrates Ocean Winds’ unwavering commitment to delivering sustainable wind energy solutions for the United Kingdom.”
The core CMS team was led by Charles Currier and Munir Hassan and included Brett Mendonca, Greg Moreton-Smith and Nana Donkor (Corporate); Aaron Fairhurst, Jason Todd, and Eddie Creamer (Tax); and Russell Hoare and Jean-Francois Willems (Competition).
Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.
