Ellomay Offloads Nearly Half of Italian Solar Portfolio to Clal

• Ellomay Capital sells 49 % of its 198-MW Italian solar portfolio to Clal Insurance for €52 million, freeing cash for expansion and highlighting growing institutional appetite for renewables.

Ellomay Capital Ltd, the Israeli renewables developer best known for scouting niche opportunities across Europe, has quietly cashed in on part of its Italian solar empire. The company confirmed late Friday that it has sold a 49 percent slice of its 198-megawatt photovoltaic portfolio to long-time financial partner Clal Insurance for €52 million (about US $60.8 million).

Although Ellomay keeps day-to-day control with a 51 percent majority, the buy-in gives Clal a direct line to one of the country’s most productive utility-scale solar platforms. The array spans multiple regions, feeding green electrons into Italy’s grid under long-term power-purchase agreements.

A calculated cash-in
For chief executive Ran Fridrich, the deal is less a retreat than a tactical reload. By unlocking fresh capital while hanging on to management rights, Ellomay gains breathing room to fund new builds in Italy and Spain without diluting shareholders or piling on debt. “This transaction strengthens our balance sheet and accelerates our growth pipeline,” Fridrich said in written remarks, calling Clal “a sophisticated, like-minded investor.”

Institutional appetite grows
Clal’s move is hardly an outlier. Pension funds and insurers have been edging away from volatile equities toward long-dated, inflation-linked infrastructure—especially renewables that tick the environmental, social and governance (ESG) box. Analysts at Jefferies note that operational solar farms in stable markets now trade at premiums once reserved for regulated utilities.

Why Italy?
Despite occasional permitting hurdles, Italy offers robust solar irradiance, transparent tariffs and a government keen on meeting EU climate targets. That cocktail makes the peninsula one of Europe’s fastest-growing solar hubs, and Ellomay’s pipeline—already pushing 200 MW—could double within three years if local approvals hold.

What’s next
Ellomay says proceeds will fund late-stage developments and battery-storage add-ons aimed at smoothing intermittent output. Clal, meanwhile, secures predictable cash flows that dovetail with its long-term liability profile. If the partnership delivers, both parties hint the 49-to-51 split could serve as a template for future asset recycling.

With the ink now dry, Ellomay heads into the second half of 2025 armed with fresh capital, a lighter risk profile and a partner eager to keep writing checks—proof that the marriage of infrastructure know-how and institutional money shows no sign of cooling.