By Cristiana Sandeva
Local joint venture Mega Eco Energy has signed a €74m eight-year project financing for a 180MW/360MWh BESS project near Cherven Bryag led by UniCredit and including Eurobank Bulgaria.
The total cost of the project is €123m with a debt-to-equity ratio of 60:40. The project is due to receive a partial capex reimbursement for construction costs under the EU-backed Restore programme for Bulgarian BESS, with half the subsidy going towards debt repayment of the project financing. CMS was legal adviser to the lenders.
The JV is a grouping of Bulgarian holding companies Bonera Invest, Starcom, Arkont-Invest and Electrohold. Bonera is owned by businessman Radostin Hristov Bonev. Starcom is listed on the Bulgarian stock exchange and owned by Asen Milkov Hristov, Kiril Ivanov Boshov and Velislav Milkov Hristov with respective stakes of 51%, 34% and 15%. Arkont-Invest is owned by Vasil Stefanov and Electrohold is a subsidiary of Sofia and Warsaw-listed Bulgarian financial and energy company Eurohold.