Enbridge buys stake in EnBW's 1.8 billion euro Hohe See wind park

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Canadian energy infrastructure group Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) has bought a 49.9 percent stake in EnBW's (EBKG.DE) 1.8 billion euro (£1.53 billion) North Sea offshore park Hohe See, EnBW said on Friday.

Enbridge said it was spending a total of around C$1.7 billion ($1.3 billion), which includes some financing and transaction costs. It said it had already funded its investment through financing moves in the fourth quarter of last year, primarily preferred share and hybrid instrument offerings.

With a planned capacity of about 500 megawatts (MW), Hohe See is one of Europe's largest offshore wind park projects and will be EnBW's biggest park to date.

Both partners will jointly finance the wind park from construction through to commissioning in 2019, shouldering roughly half the investment sum each.

EnBW will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the finished park based on a service and management contract, EnBW said.

EnBW said Enbridge also had an option to participate in expansion project Albatros, for which an investment decision is expected early this year.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters in August that Enbridge had won the auction for a stake in Hohe See.

Hohe See, which will be located in the North Sea around 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the German island of Heligoland, will supply around 560,000 households with power and save 1.5 million tonnes of CO2. EnBW said it would make a substantial contribution to its group operating earnings after it is commissioned.

Enbridge said its financial advisor for the Hohe See deal was JP Morgan, while its legal advisor was Dentons.

(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Victoria Bryan)