Berlin-based renewable energy company NeXtWind has signed a €1.4 billion debt financing, €1.3 billion accordion facilities, which can be activated in tranches over the coming years.

The company will use the loan to modernize more than half of its 37 wind farms, increasing their generation capacity to over 1 gigawatt by 2028. NeXtWind also plans to develop these wind farms into sustainable energy infrastructure hubs.

Lazard structured the financing and accompanied the entire process as exclusive financial adviser to NeXtWind. Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, and LBBW acted as underwriters, mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. Deutsche Bank also served as global coordinator, while ING Bank was green loan coordinator, facility and security agent. Watson Farley & Williams advised NeXtWind.

The €1.4 billion loan package consists of five core components tailored to the various financial requirements of repowering, including a term loan for acquisitions and investments as well as flexible guarantee lines. Insurance companies have also joined the transaction upon closing of the loan agreement to provide part of the guarantee line.

The syndicated loan is the largest of its kind for an independent wind energy provider in Germany, and it opens the onshore wind market to debt investments from major financial institutions both domestically and internationally.

NeXtWind investors include energy infrastructure player Sandbrook Capital, Canadian institutional investors Public Sector Pension Investment Board ( PSP Investments ), and Investment Management Corporation of Ontario ( Imco ).

Founded in 2020, the company acquires and optimizes existing wind farms by installing new turbines alongside state-of-the-art technology ( repowering ).

It currently operates 37 onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 450 megawatts and a total repowering capacity of 1.4GW. The company aims to increase its total generation capacity to 3GW by 2028.

“We are delighted to have advised NeXtWind on this strategic financing, which will play a key role in enabling the distribution of renewable energy in a grid-friendly manner and contribute towards Germany’s energy transition," says Watson Farley & Williams partner Wolfram Böge.