Spain's Cox Energy formally takes over troubled Abengoa

Spanish solar power producer Cox Energy SAB de CV (BME:COX) said on Monday that it has finalised and notarised its acquisition of Seville-based infrastructure, renewable energy and water solutions multinational Abengoa, having secured the insolvent company and its assets in bankruptcy court proceedings in April this year.

Cox Energy was awarded the acquisition deal for EUR 564 million (USD 619.2m), a bid that included all of Abengoa’s business areas and corporate operations, 9,500-strong workforce, EUR 206 million of debt and outstanding guarantees for its projects and EUR 252 million of project finance debt associated with other assets.

The closure of the acquisition was complicated by appeals filed by Abengoa’s creditors HSBC, the AIM fund and the Signature fund, and more notably, one filed by Spanish real estate and sustainable infrastructure builder Urbas Grupo Financiero SA (BME:UBS).

Urbas, itself a diversified multinational, said the acquisition made business sense as it would have enabled it to achieve its growth targets. It said it was not acting “as an opportunistic company which saw in Abengoa a vehicle to position itself on the business scene”.

Furthermore, Urbas claimed in the appeal that Cox Energy’s improved bid had been submitted outside of the deadline, and as such should have been null and void.

A judge in a Seville court in May dismissed all the appeals and confirmed Cox Energy’s award, Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reported at the time.

Upon finalising the acquisition, Cox Energy said it had received support from workers, trade unions, public administrations, the insolvency administrator EY and banks. Cox Energy and lenders Banco Santander, CaixaBank, Credit Agricole, BBVA, Bankinter and HSBC reached an agreement on a guarantee line of EUR 150 million, the solar company said.

"The closure of the transaction for the acquisition of Grupo Abengoa, one of Spain's leading multinational companies in the infrastructure, energy and water markets, will allow Grupo Cox to strengthen its leadership in the industry and expand its presence to new sectors and regions,” commented founder and Cox Energy Group president Enrique Riquelme.

The Mexico-based group, formerly known as Cox Energy America, is focused mainly on the Latin American markets where it builds solar farms, having 51 MWp in operation and 2,388 MWp in various stages of development.

In early July, Cox Energy listed on the BME Growth segment of the Spanish stock exchange and is now listed in both Spain and Mexico. According to its earnings report for the first semester of 2023, the company carries a net loss of EUR 1.5 million, which it narrowed from EUR 5.1 million in the year-ago period.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.098)

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