Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised Photosol Développement S.a.s. (“Photosol”), part of France’s Photosol Group, on its acquisition of a 100 MW portfolio comprising ten photovoltaic and agrivoltaic projects in Italy’s Lazio region from ib vogt GmbH. The purchase, Photosol’s first investment in Italy, is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions including all ten projects achieving “ready to build” status.
Photosol intends for this inaugural investment to be the first of many in the Italian market, whose national renewable energy targets and structure have strong synergies with its French counterpart, allowing the group to leverage extensive technical expertise in a market whose agrivoltaic sector is expanding.
Founded in 2008, the Photosol group is one of France’s leading developers and producers of photovoltaic electricity, specialising in large-scale ground-mounted, primarily agrivoltaic, photovoltaic systems. As a vertically integrated operator, Photosol manages photovoltaic projects across their entirety from development and financing, through construction to achieving operational status. In April 2022, Photosol became part of the Rubis Group, a multi-energy operator active in the transport, distribution and storage of oil and gas products, listed on Euronext Paris. ib vogt GmbH is a leading utility-scale solar development platform with a global footprint and a 20-year track record.
The cross-border, multidisciplinary WFW Energy team that advised Photosol was led by Italy Corporate Partner Luca Sfrecola working closely with Associate Sonia Basso. Senior Associates Anthony Bellacci and Cristina Betti, Associates Antimo Nersita and Francesco Vanzaghi and Trainees Alice Zago and Maria Concetta Molica advised on the administrative and real estate law. Tax advice was provided by Senior Associate Alfredo Guacci Esposito, assisted by Associate Fabiana Vietri. Paris Corporate Partner Pascal Roux and Senior Associate Pierre Chipaux advised on French law matters. Madrid Partner Gonzalo Aranzabal and Hamburg Partner Thomas Hollenhorst also provided local law expertise for their respective jurisdictions.
Luca commented: “We are delighted to have advised Photosol on its high-profile entry into the Italian market, showcasing WFW’s renewables expertise and ability to provide seamless cross-border support across multiple service lines. We look forward to supporting Photosol in developing other projects in Italy in the near future”.
Pascal added: “It was pleasure working with Luca and his team and all our colleagues across WFW’s international network on this transaction. With their strong market knowledge and dynamic teams, we believe Photosol is extreme well placed to achieve further successes in the coming months”.
SKS acted as Photosol’s Polish counsel.
