22 December 2004 - Spanish wind power company Gamesa said Tuesday it has agreed to sell six Spanish wind parks with a total capacity of 158 MW in Spain in a deal worth more than €200m ($267m). The farms are being bought by Global Wind Partners, an unlisted Australian investment vehicle owned by Babcock & Brown Ltd and Australian infrastructure investment vehicle Prime Infrastructure Group.

Global Wind Partners was established by Babcock & Brown in 2003 to invest in quality wind energy generation projects.

As part of the agreement, Gamesa will also sell additional wind parks, with an installed capacity of 450 MW that will come on stream between 2005 and 2007.

Babcock & Brown's international exposure gives Gamesa an opportunity to sell wind turbines in wind parks overseas, such as Italy and the US, where Babcock & Brown is involved, Gamesa said.

The agreement allows Gamesa to end 2004 with a net profit of some €222m, as it was previously estimated by the company. That represents a 10 per cent increase from 2003 net profit.

In November, Gamesa said it expects its 2005 net profit to drop 4 per cent to €214m as strong performance of its wind-power businesses will be offset by continued sluggishness in its aeronautic operations.