SJI Announces Sale of Solar Portfolio

Newsroom > South Jersey Industries News
FOLSOM, NJ, June 28, 2018 – SJI (NYSE: SJI) has entered into an agreement to sell its portfolio of solar energy projects to an entity managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) for approximately $350 million in cash.

Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Marina Energy, SJI owns 76 distributed solar energy projects with total capacity of 204 MW. The projects, located at 143 sites across New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont, provide power to schools, hospitals, and commercial and industrial facilities. 

“This transaction represents the latest chapter in our ongoing effort to transform our business by monetizing non-core, non-regulated businesses and increasing investments in regulated assets that provide highly-visible cash flows and earnings” said Michael J. Renna, President and CEO, SJI. “We are pleased to partner with GSAM in transitioning these high-quality assets to new ownership.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Marina will sell all projects in the portfolio to GSAM and lease back certain projects to preserve investment tax credits (ITCs) previously received by the company. Marina will also sell GSAM the solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) generated by the projects, which will allow SJI to maximize its proceeds from the transaction.    

The agreement calls for SJI to receive $63 million of the purchase price within the next week, with the balance being received over the next several months as individual projects in the portfolio satisfy closing conditions. SJI currently expects nearly all projects in the portfolio will satisfy their closing conditions prior to December 31, 2018. SJI is committed to achieving optimal deployment of the proceeds, including but not limited to, potential repayment of outstanding indebtedness and potential reduced share issuance under our existing forward equity agreement, as we continue to reshape our business.

Guggenheim Securities, LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, LLP is acting as exclusive legal advisor to SJI in connection with this transaction.
 
About SJI
SJI (NYSE: SJI), an energy services holding company based in Folsom, NJ, delivers energy solutions to its customers through three primary subsidiaries. South Jersey Gas delivers safe, reliable, affordable natural gas and promotes energy efficiency to approximately 385,000 customers in southern New Jersey. SJI’s non-utility businesses within South Jersey Energy Solutions promote efficiency, clean technology and renewable energy by providing customized wholesale commodity marketing and fuel management services; acquiring and marketing natural gas and electricity for retail customers; and developing, owning and operating on-site energy production facilities. SJI Midstream houses the company’s interest in the PennEast Pipeline Project. Visit http://www.sjindustries.com for more information about SJI and its subsidiaries.
 

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