CIT Group announced that it arranged a $36 million senior secured credit facility to Punta Lima LLC, owner of the Punta Lima Wind Farm in Puerto Rico. The financing was structured through a sale and leaseback of the facility between Sovereign Bank, N.A. (owner of Punta Lima LLC) and Gestamp Wind.

CIT Corporate Finance served as the sole lead arranger in the transaction and financing was provided by CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Wind power facilities are an increasingly important part of the alternative energy mix, a sector CIT Energy has extensive experience in,” said Mike Lorusso, group head of CIT Energy. “This transaction provides CIT an opportunity to partner with an established renewable developer and we look to growing our relationship with Gestamp.”

Javier Mateache, chief executive officer of Gestamp Wind, said, “This wind power facility is an exciting development for renewable energy development in Puerto Rico, which traditionally relied heavily on imported petroleum products as their dominant energy source for the island. We selected CIT because the firm is dedicated to its clients and because of their successful track record of supporting our sector.”

Gestamp Wind is the wind energy division of Gestamp Renewables, specialized in the development, construction and operation of wind farms with projects in Europe, Brazil, EEUU, Turkey and South Africa.

Punta Lima LLC is wholly owned by Sovereign Bank, N.A., which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santander Group SA.

CIT Corporate Finance provides lending, leasing and other financial and advisory services to the small business and middle market sectors, with a focus on specific industries, including: Chemicals & Industrials, Communications, Energy, Entertainment, Gaming, Healthcare, Information Services & Technology, Restaurants, Retail, Sports and Media.