SRE Sempra

MEXICO CITY—The Mexican unit of Sempra Energy said Monday it has signed an agreement to buy two wind farms in northeastern Mexico.

The move is part of the firm's plans to focus on long-term dollar-denominated revenues and bolster its renewable-energy portfolio.

Infraestructura Energé tica Nova SAB, known as IEnova, will pay Blackstone Energy Partners, Fisterra Energy, and other minority shareholders $375 million for the assets and assume $477 in debt related to project financing, valuing the transaction at $852 million.

Ventika I and Ventika II, which are adjacent to each other in the state of Nuevo Leó n, include 84 wind generators with a combined electricity generation capacity of 252 megawatts.

The project was developed by Fisterra Energy, which is owned by funds managed by Blackstone, and Mexican cement maker Cemex SAB. Cemex will continue to manage the farm, which was completed in December and started operating in April. The farms were built by Spain's Acciona Energí a.

IEnova said the acquisition is part of its plan for short-term and medium-term growth, and will increase its operations in renewable energy.

Electricity from Ventika has been contracted to private companies under long-term power purchasing agreements. The project is expected to contribute to earnings immediately once the deal closes, which is seen occurring in the fourth quarter. Shareholder and regulatory approvals are pending.

IEnova operates natural gas pipelines, a liquefied natural gas terminal, natural gas distribution systems and power generation plants in Mexico. It also has a 155-megawatt wind farm in northern Baja California state, in a 50-50 partnership with InterGen, which connects to Southern California via a cross-border transmission line.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2016 20:35 ET (00:35 GMT)

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