Drax acquires Bluefield Solar Income Fund for £548m
Drax Group has acquired Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF) for £548m through its subsidiary Drax Smart Generation, after the BSIF board decided a higher interest rate environment caused its shares to trade at a consistent double-digit discount to NAV, making a sale the best option.
It comes with an additional 2.25 pence per share dividend, making the total value 94.824 pence per share. This represents a 31% premium to the fund’s closing price on November 4 2025.
The all-cash acquisition will be implemented through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement, and values the fund at roughly £561m, including the dividend.
The deal is expected to significantly expand Drax Group’s renewable generation business by offering Drax direct access into a c.0.9GW renewable portfolio comprised of operating and under construction solar and wind assets.
For the financial year ended 30 June 2025, BSIF generated underlying earnings of around £95m.
Read more: NextEnergy Solar shifts focus following strategic review
Michael Gibbons CBE, chair of BSIF, said: “Since autumn 2022, a changed interest rate environment has contributed to BSIF shares trading at a consistent double digit discount to NAV. Without fresh capital to invest in new projects, the portfolio’s quarterly NAVs have naturally declined with the payment of dividends.
“Against this changed backdrop, following an earlier evaluation of strategic options and shareholder feedback which indicated a clear preference for value maximising options, the BSIF Board acted decisively to initiate a formal sale process. The BSIF Board is pleased with the conclusion of this process.”
Will Gardiner, CEO of Drax, added: “BSIF could potentially be the biggest acquisition our business has ever made. It represents an attractive opportunity to substantially grow our renewable generation business, while being highly complementary to the Wider Drax Group’s existing operations and FlexGen portfolio.
“This deal can help meet the UK’s energy goals of security of supply, affordability and decarbonisation as rising levels of renewable electricity are expected to meet growing national power demand.”