International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holdings Limited (MRPAH), on the sale of its interest in Lekela Power, an independent power producer with renewable energy projects producing over 1GW across South Africa, Egypt and Senegal. MRPAH (alongside Actis) disposed of its interest to a consortium comprising the Infinity Group and African Finance Corporation.
Simmons advised Mainstream on the establishment of the Lekela joint venture with Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and subsequently on the establishment of the MRPAH joint venture between Mainstream and its joint venture partners including IFC, Rockefeller Brothers, Agility, Ascension and Sanlam.
The disposal follows the recent exit by Actis and Mainstream from another joint venture, Aela Energia, the largest independent renewable energy producer in Chile, on which Simmons & Simmons also advised Mainstream.
The Simmons team advising MRPAH was led by energy, natural resources and infrastructure partner Iain Duncan, with support from partner Patrick Wallace and associates Ben James, Lev Gantly and Jonathan Arumugam.
Commenting on the sale, Iain said: “We are delighted to have supported MRPAH on the recently announced sale of Lekela to the Infinity Group and African Finance Corporation. We have been advising MRPAH since 2014, including on its original joint venture with Actis, and it is really pleasing to see it reach this milestone.”
Barry Carson MRPAH Investment Manager said: “The support of our professional advisers played an important role in successfully completing this transaction. I am grateful to the team at Simmons & Simmons, led by Iain Duncan, for their advice and support in this transaction and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we move forward on our journey to becoming a renewable energy major this decade.”