Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, S.A. has agreed to the sale of Gamesa Solar to private equity firm First Reserve Corporation for a total consideration of 261 million euros. Net debt was approximately 53 million euros as of December 2007. 

Gamesa is a company specializing in sustainable energy technologies, mainly wind power. Gamesa is the market leader in Spain and is among the larger wind turbine manufacturers in the world, with a market share of 16% in 2006. Gamesa Solar is a solar energy company in Spain focusing on the development, construction and sale of solar photovoltaic plants as well as providing turn-key project management for third parties. Gamesa Solar has 100 employees and claims revenues of over 200 million euros and EBITDA of c. euro 25 million as of December 2007.

Guillermo Ulacia, Gamesa Chairman and CEO said, "The sale of Gamesa Solar monetises the value created in a business that was created in 2005. Additionally, we have completed our exit from non-core activities after the divestitures of the aeronautics and services divisions in 2006. After this transaction, Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica concentrates fully in wind energy, a highly technological activity where Gamesa is an international leader."

Skeptical?  You should be. No one sells a three-year-old solar business that does $2 million per employee in order to focus on wind power. How does it have 50 million euros in debt with that revenue?

Gamesa has installed over 13,000 MW of its main product lines in 20 countries spread out over four continents - equivalent to about four nuclear power plants. The annual equivalent of this production claims to have replaced over 2.78 million petroleum equivalent tons per year and led to a reduction in CO2 emissions of over 19.41 tons per year.

Its total portfolio  21,000 MW of wind power being promoted in Europe, America and Asia and branches in 13 countries, Gamesa calls itself one of the world's most important companies in the promotion and development of wind farms.