REG - US Solar Fund PLC US Solar Fund - USFP - Portfolio Debt Financing Completion & Dividend

Us Solar FundAnnouncement

17/04/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 3407F  US Solar Fund PLC  17 April 2025

17 April 2025

 

US Solar Fund (PLC)

("USF", or the "Company)

 

 

 COMPLETION OF PORTFOLIO DEBT FINANCING

AND CHANGE TO DIVIDEND Policy

The Company is pleased to confirm that it has completed a non-recourse
portfolio-level debt financing. The facilities provided by the refinancing
total approximately USD$166 million.

As previously announced, the Investment Manager has undertaken a thorough
review of options available to the Company in relation to the refinancing of
existing senior debt facilities that were due to mature between June 2026 and
June 2028.  After due consideration, the Board determined that a bank debt
solution provided the optimal outcome for the Company.  The refinancing is
expected to improve near-term operational cash dividend coverage, enhance the
robustness of the Company's balance sheet and retain sufficient flexibility
within the capital structure to accommodate a sale of the portfolio if
suitable circumstances prevail. As previously announced by the Company, the
Board and Investment Manager are committed to analysing the market and
presenting solutions to enhance shareholder value. The refinancing is believed
to achieve that objective.

The new senior debt facilities, secured with existing and new lenders,
comprise the following:

 ♦          USD$127 million mini-perm term loan 1  (#_ftn1)

            This is structured with a five-year legal tenor, with repayments spread over a
            22-year amortisation profile. The new facility is fully hedged based on the
            22-year amortisation profile providing resilience in the portfolio's cash
            flows against movements in interest rates. This new facility replaces the term
            loans in place for the Milford, Euryalus and Heelstone portfolios. Gearing of
            the Company as at completion of the financing and based on 31 December 2024
            NAV, calculated as total debt outstanding to GAV, reduces slightly to 40%.
            The NAV of the Company is not expected to change as a result of the
            refinancing.
 ♦          USD$10.5 million revolving loan

            This facility provides liquidity for operating expenditures and replaces the
            previous $20 million revolving credit facility held through USF Avon LLC.
 ♦          USD$28 million letter of credit (LC) facility

            This LC facility supports collateral posting requirements and debt service
            reserve account requirements. The availability of this facility will also
            allow for the release of cash collateral required to satisfy collateral
            posting requirements under the Milford PPA.

Updated dividend policy

In light of the forecast improvements to operational cash dividend coverage
resulting from the lower amortisation of debt over the near term, the Board
has determined it prudent to increase the target dividend from $0.0225/share
to $0.035/share. This change will take effect in Q3 2025.

 

Gill Nott, Chair of the Company:

"The Board believe this refinancing positions the Company strongly moving
forward.  We are delighted to deliver this outcome to our shareholders, who
have remained patient and supportive of our endeavours.

The success of this refinancing demonstrates the strong support for our
portfolio from US lenders and reflects the underlying strength of the
Company's assets.  The new financing optimises the Company's capital
structure and improves near-term distributable cashflow, allowing for an
increase to the dividend target. Importantly, the new financing provides
structural flexibility which will benefit the Company as it seeks future
opportunities to maximise shareholder value.

The Board ensured, through their own contacts and those of the Investment
Manager, that they were presented with a number of options for this
refinancing. This led to the additional time necessary to complete the
refinancing, which we believe was time well spent. In spite of challenging
market conditions we were able to transact due to the experience of the
Investment Manager's team and the support of our lenders."

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 US Solar Fund                      +44 20 7939 0550

 Meredith Frost (Amber)
 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited  +44 20 7397 8900

 Tunga Chigovanyika

 KL Communications                  +44 20 3882 6644

 Charles Gorman                     USF@kl-communications.com

 Charlotte Francis

 Amy Levingston Smith

About US Solar Fund plc

US Solar Fund plc, established in 2019, listed on the premium segment of the
London Stock Exchange in April 2019. The Company's investment objective is to
provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of
capital growth by owning and operating solar power assets in North America and
other OECD countries in the Americas.

The solar power assets that the Company acquires or constructs are expected to
have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated
cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term
power purchase agreements (or PPAs). The Company's portfolio currently
consists of 41 operational solar projects with a total capacity of 443MWDC,
all located in the United States.

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at
http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk (http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk) .

 

About Amber Infrastructure Group

Amber Infrastructure Investment Advisor LLC, a member of the Amber
Infrastructure Group, was appointed as the Company's Investment Manager on 1
December 2023.

Amber Infrastructure is an international infrastructure specialist, focused on
investment origination, development, asset management and in Europe, fund
management. Amber's core business focuses on infrastructure assets across the
public, transport, energy, digital and demographic infrastructure sectors that
support the lives of people, homes and businesses internationally.

Among other funds, Amber Infrastructure advises International Public
Partnerships, a FTSE 250-listed Company with a market cap of approximately
£2.5 billion and 15-year track record of long-term investment in
infrastructure assets globally. Amber is headquartered in London with offices
in Europe, North America and Australia and employs c.180 infrastructure
professionals.

Amber has had a strategic partnership with the Hunt Group of Companies in the
US since 2015 and completed their previously announced strategic transaction
with Boyd Watterson in August 2024. Amber is part of Boyd Watterson Global
Asset Management Group LLC, a global diversified infrastructure, real estate
and fixed income business with over $36 billion in assets under management and
over 300 employees with offices in eight US cities and presence in twelve
countries. Learn more at www.amberinfrastructure.com
(http://www.amberinfrastructure.com) .

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) A 'mini-perm term loan' is a loan where the amortisation
period and the legal tenor of the loan are different. For example, the new
facility has a longer amortisation period (22 years) aligned with the term of
existing PPAs, with a shorter legal tenor (5-years).

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