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Billionaire Zara Owner Builds Energy Bet With Wind Farm Stake

Billionaire Zara Owner Builds Energy Bet With Wind Farm Stake

Amancio Ortega, the billionaire founder of the Zara clothing brand, bought a stake in a renewable energy project from Repsol SA. 

Ortega’s family office Pontegadea will pay 245 million euros ($281 million) for a 49% stake in Repsol’s Delta wind farm in the Spanish province of Zaragoza, according to a statement from the Madrid energy company Thursday. 

This is Pontegadea’s fourth investment in the energy sector, but its first in power generation. It acquired a 5% in Spain’s natural gas network operator Enagas SA in late 2019, and then this year acquired stakes in the country’s power grid operator Red Electrica Corp SA and its Portuguese counterpart REN - Redes Energeticas Nacionais SGPS.

Read More: Zara Billionaire Boosts Iberian Utility Bets With Stake in REN

Pontegadea was set up to invest dividends Ortega receives from Inditex SA, the world’s largest apparel retailer, which owns Zara and other brands and forms the core of a fortune worth $78 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Traditionally, the boutique had invested mostly in real estate. Ortega controls about 59% of Inditex.

Delta, a wind-farm, has installed capacity of 335 megawatts.

Banco Santander SA advised Repsol on the deal, while GBS Finance assisted Pontegadea.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.