The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) announced today that it closed the sale of its interests in wind generation assets in France for approximately €34 million (US$ 42 million) to Boralex Europe S.A. Through its subsidiary AES Southern Europe Holdings, B.V., AES sold the 34.5 MW St. Patrick wind farm and its minority share of InnoVent SAS, which controls 114 MW of wind assets in operation and under construction. On a proportional basis, the transaction represents 73 MW of generation capacity.
“The sale of our French wind assets fits our strategy to exit some markets in order to focus on those where we can sustain a competitive advantage,” said Andrés Gluski, AES President and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite the difficult macroeconomic environment, we are continuing to execute on our plan to create shareholder value.”
The use of proceeds will be evaluated in accordance with AES’ capital allocation policy to maximize total shareholder returns by paying down debt, investing in new businesses or repurchasing shares. These assets contributed approximately $3.5 million of net income to AES in 2011. With total expected proceeds of approximately $42 million, the implied P/E multiple for this transaction is 12 times 2011 earnings.