GIG – which was formerly the UK Green Investment Bank before it was sold off by the British government to investor Macquarie earlier this year – has invested €136m to buy the share in the Poolbeg waste to energy plant from Covanta.
The investment is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2018.
“We are delighted to have entered into a partnership arrangement with Covanta, a world-leading owner and operator of waste-to-energy facilities,” said Edward Northam, head of GIG in Europe.
“We are also pleased to announce GIG’s first investment in the Republic of Ireland. Investing in Covanta’s landmark Dublin project is the first step in realising the potential of the partnership.”
The Poolbeg plant is now operational, with the PPP deal having reached financial close in September 2014.
Separately, Covanta recently completed a comprehensive refinancing of the original capital structure of the Dublin Waste to Energy project, significantly extending maturities and reducing cost. A syndicate of lenders including the local Irish banks of Bank of Ireland and AIB as well as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund participated.