MightyRiver banks $40.5 mln in sell-down to Maori partner

Tuesday 3rd April 2012

MightyRiverPower has banked $40.5 million in return for the sale of a further 10 percent stake in its joint venture with the Tauhara North No 2 Trust, involving three geothermal power stations in the central North Island.

The sale reflects an existing agreement with the tribal incorporation, affiliated with the Ngati Tahu iwi, allowing it to buy the additional stake for a pre-agreed price, and to raise its stake further if desired, subject to revaluation of the assets of the Rotokawa Joint Venture.

MRP’s share of the project now sits at 65 percent, although Tauhara North has rights to extend its ownership.

The joint venture relationship covers the 113 Megawatt Rotokawa power station, built in 2000, the 100MW Kawerau station, commissioned in 2008, and the 140MW Nga Awa Purua station, which began production in 2010.

An executive officer of the trust, Aroha Campbell, told BusinessDesk the transaction had “nothing to do” with the partial privatisation of MRP, which is expected later this year as the government embarks on the sale of minority stakes in four state-owned energy companies. MRP will be first to go to market.

The Auckland-based generator-retailer recently realised $7 million in value from its share of credits under the now-defunct Projects for Reducing Emissions scheme, created by the Nga Awa Purua project.

MRP has also committed to building a fifth geothermal plant to its fleet, the 82MW, $446 million Nga Tamariki project, which it is pursuing alone. All its previous geothermal investments have been joint ventures with Maori tribal incorporations. Its 113MW Mokai plant, commissioned in 2000, was built with the Tuaropaki Trust.

MRP said in its annual report for the year to June 30 that it had total debt facilities of more than $1.3 billion, with available headroom of more than $300 million, and that this had been significant in allowing Nga Tamariki to proceed, while allowing the company also to make its $250 million commitment to the GeoGlobal Energy Fund – an international geothermal energy joint venture.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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