SunEdison Yieldco Said to Seek Sale of U.K. Solar Portfolio

TerraForm Power Inc., a holding company founded and controlled by the bankrupt clean-energy giant SunEdison Inc., is seeking to sell about 365 megawatts of solar farms in the U.K., according to two people familiar with the plans.About five companies are now in the second round of bidding for the 24-project portfolio, the bulk of its U.K. holdings, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Citigroup Inc. is advising TerraForm on the sale, they said, confirming previous reports from SparkSpread.

Spokesmen for TerraForm, SunEdison and Citigroup declined to comment. TerraForm shares declined 1.6 percent to $11.41 at the close in New York.
TerraForm was set up as a yieldco — a holding company that buys and owns operating power plants, and funds dividend payments to shareholders through selling electricity. They’re usually acquirers rather than sellers.

Optimizing
The company said in July it would consider selling some assets to “optimize” its portfolio after posting a net loss of $181 million to $203 million last year, according to preliminary unaudited 2015 results.Most of Bethesda, Maryland-based TerraForm’s assets are in the U.S., and it also owns power plants in Canada, Chile and 376 megawatts of solar power in the U.K., as of June 30.The yieldco is pursuing the U.K. asset sale while also taking steps to be acquired. SunEdison, which filed the biggest U.S. bankruptcy of the year in April, announced last month that it’s working to sell its controlling stakes in TerraForm and sister company TerraForm Global Inc. TerraForm Power is also said to be setting up a formal auction to sell itself.Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Appaloosa Management LP are jointly pursuing SunEdison’s stake in TerraForm. SunEdison controls TerraForm Power through its ownership of the yieldco’s Class B shares.

Source:Bloomberg