Green on trend for Zara clothing billionaire with largest Repsol renewables swoop

Pontegadea, the investment group set up by Zara clothing tycoon Amancio Ortega, has joined Spanish oil and gas company Repsol in a renewables portfolio with an initial 618MW of capacity.

Pontegadea will pay €363m ($394m) for a 49% stake in the assets, according to a statement by Repsol.

The transaction covers 12 onshore wind farms totalling 398MW and two solar PV plants in three different regions of Spain, and values the assets at €740m. There is "hybridisation potential" for a further 279MW by adding complementary technologies, Repsol said.

This is the third and largest such transaction involving Spanish renewables assets between the two parties as Pontegadea acquired 49% of Repsol’s Delta wind farms in 2021, and 49% of the Kappa photovoltaic complex in 2022.

Pontegadea has a controlling 59.29% stake in Inditex, the retail group founded by Spanish billionaire Ortega that counts global clothing chain Zara among its brands.

The investment firm has a presence in renewable energy that now amounts to 1GW, and its investments include a minority stake in the renewables and hydrogen arm of Spanish gas grid operator Enagas.

Repsol said the farm-down "consolidates the alliance between the two companies and reinforces [a] strategy of bringing in partners or investors in businesses to accelerate the achievement of objectives and maximise the return on the group's operations".

Repsol said it currently has a global renewable energy portfolio of 2.3GW in operation, with 3GW under construction, and a portfolio of projects at different stages of development in Spain, the United States, Chile, and Italy.

The company is targeting 6GW of installed renewable generation by 2025 and 20GW by 2030.