RIVE Private Investment and LCI acquire a helicopter for use on the construction site of the world’s largest offshore wind farm
Paris, January 30, 2024. RIVE Private Investment (“RIVE”), an independent European investment company, strengthens its helicopter leasing platform with the acquisition of a Leonardo AW139 model as part of a joint venture with its long-standing partner LCI. The helicopter will be leased for five years to CHC, a leading international operator. The Leonardo AW139 is among the most popular and high-performing medium-sized aircraft on the market.
The helicopter will transport personnel for the development and maintenance of the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction: Dogger Bank, located about 130 km off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea. This park has nearly 277 wind turbines off the Yorkshire coast. Dogger Bank will have an installed capacity of 3.6 GW, capable of producing the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 5 million British households.
RIVE thus contributes to the development of critical infrastructure for the energy transition, mobilizing its expertise in operational leasing in the field of specialized transport. This transaction is emblematic of the convergence between RIVE’s two investment strategies (transport assets and energy transition) and a desire for positive social and environmental impact.
The Close Brothers bank provided senior financing for this transaction, conducted via the RTAIF fund (RIVE Transportation Assets Income Fund), which has already made investments in over a hundred assets, representing a total value of more than 400 million euros.
Camille Brunel, Partner at RIVE Private Investment, commented:
« This transaction demonstrates the relevance of RIVE’s dual sectoral and financial expertise and our ability to leverage transport assets for critical missions and the energy transition. We are pleased to continue our collaboration with a reference ecosystem of partners in the field of specialized transport such as LCI and CHC. »
About RIVE Private Investment
RIVE Private Investment is an independent European investment company, specialized in transport assets and infrastructures dedicated to the energy transition. RIVE addresses the small and mid-market, combining financial and sectoral expertise. Founded in 2013 and based in Paris, Luxembourg, and Geneva, RIVE has financed more than 2.4 billion euros of assets through over 100 transactions in about twenty countries.
RIVE, through its RTAIF fund, invests in assets contributing to the decarbonization of the transport sector and/or serving essential needs, such as rail, specialized aviation (medical, firefighting and rescue, etc.), and maritime (electric ferries, support for offshore wind farms, etc.). Since its launch in mid-2021, the RTAIF fund has deployed nearly 250 million euros of capital in 10 OECD countries.
About LCI
LCI is a leading aviation company that is uniquely positioned across the commercial fixed-wing, helicopter and advanced air mobility sectors. Since its inception in 2004, LCI has undertaken approximately US$10 billion of aviation transactions and provides leasing services to operators, Governments and end-users.
LCI is owned by Libra Group (www.libra.com), a privately-owned international business group whose subsidiaries own and operate assets in nearly 60 countries and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited (SMFL) (www.smfl.co.jp).
For more information, visit www.lciaviation.com
Press contact:
Bénédicte Debusschere – b.debusschere@bcadvisory.fr – 06 48 56 70 71
Victoria Wojtczak – v.wojtczak@bcadvisory.fr – 06 79 75 01 66
Image: CHC