EFG Hermes to Buy UK Solar Power Portfolio

 EFG Hermes' renewable energy platform Vortex has agreed to buy a portfolio of solar power assets in Britain for 470 million pounds ($580 million) from Sun Edison's Terraforma.

The portfolio includes 24 solar parks, has a combined 365 megawatts (MW) of power and an estimated useful life of around three decades, EFG said on Friday.

The price includes around 300 million pounds of debt, which Vortex said it planned to refinance before completing the deal.

Malaysian utility firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) will fund half of the 170 million pound equity portion of the transaction. The remaining 50 percent will be underwritten by EFG Hermes which plans on eventually holding 5 percent of the equity, consistent with previous transactions undertaken by Vortex.

The parent company of Terraforma, Sun Edison, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April after a binge of debt-fuelled acquisitions proved unsustainable.

Vortex was advised by Deloitte and Global Capital Finance.

(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva)