38 Degrees North and John Hancock Team with Tax Equity Advisors on Over $100 Million of Solar Financing in Massachusetts

Financing Facility Supports the Acquisition of One of the Largest Community Solar Portfolios in Massachusetts

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Sep 07, 2017, 10:51 ET

SAUSALITO, Calif., Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 38 Degrees North, a renewable energy infrastructure investment manager, has established an equity consortium with John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) and Tax Equity Advisors, LLC that recently acquired a portfolio of twenty community solar projects in Massachusetts, reflecting a capital commitment of greater than $100 million. 38 Degrees North is the managing equity member of the capital syndicate, which represents one of the largest project portfolios in the Massachusetts SREC II market. The parties may choose to utilize the existing structure for additional project acquisitions.

As part of the acquisition, John Hancock has invested debt and equity, while Tax Equity Advisors has invested the tax equity capital on behalf of a Fortune 500 corporate client. 38 Degrees North originated the opportunity, structured the investment, and manages and oversees the assets day to day. 38 Degrees North is the consolidating managing member of an equity partnership with John Hancock.

"Our goal in creating 38 Degrees North as an investment platform has been to direct efficient institutional capital at the distributed and community solar markets. Our relationship with John Hancock is designed to establish a repeatable framework that we can use on high quality acquisitions in these unique markets. With TEA's participation, we have a terrific combination of capital partners that can handle the complexity of this space. We are already working with these partners on new opportunities to invest in, and build, great solar projects," said Ryan Bennett, Managing Partner at 38 Degrees North.

"The partnership with 38 Degrees North and TEA enables John Hancock to continue to deploy direct equity and debt capital in the U.S. solar market," said Scott Kushner, Managing Director of John Hancock. "We've invested considerable time and thought in the relationship with 38 Degrees North, and now look forward to expanding the platform together."

Jonathan Silver, Managing Director of Tax Equity Advisors, said, "We are pleased to be working with 38 Degrees North and John Hancock on this high quality community solar portfolio. Our corporate client base has a strong interest in the solar market in general and an increasing focus on the emerging community solar market."

About 38 Degrees North: 38 Degrees North is an investment manager specializing in contracted renewable energy infrastructure with a primary focus on solar energy. The managing partners have a track record of over 3 GW of successful renewable energy project financings across a variety of asset classes. For more information, please visit: www.38degreesn.com.

About John Hancock and Manulife: John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers' needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were over $1 trillion (US$780 billion) as of June 30, 2017. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com.

One of the largest life insurers in the United States, John Hancock supports approximately 10 million Americans with a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, college savings plans, and certain forms of business insurance. We also offer advice through Signator, a network of independent financial advisors. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

About Tax Equity Advisors: Tax Equity Advisors (TEA) is a boutique investment manager that helps large companies with federal tax liabilities develop, deploy and manage their renewable energy tax credit strategies without the need for large, permanent teams of expensive in-house experts. For more information, please visit: www.taxequityadvisors.com.

SOURCE 38 Degrees North