Funding and M&A Roundup: ENGIE, Credit Agricole Acquire 97.33% Stake in Eolia Renovables

From: Mercom Capital Group
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), on behalf of certain of its clients, announced the sale of its 97.33% ownership stake in Eolia Renovables de Inversiones to ENGIE and Credit Agricole Assurances. Eolia is an independent power producer engaged in developing, constructing, and operating wind and solar PV projects. Eolia Renovables, one of the largest renewable power producers in Spain. The transaction covers the ownership and operation of 899 MW of operating assets (821 MW onshore wind and 78 MW photovoltaic) and a 1.2 GW pipeline of renewable projects. Operating assets will be 40% owned by ENGIE and 60% by Crédit Agricole Assurances, while ENGIE will develop and build the pipeline of projects. Cantor Fitzgerald and Linklaters advised AIMCo.
Array Technologies, a provider of utility-scale solar tracker technology solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Soluciones Tecnicas Integrales Norland, a manufacturer of solar trackers. Under the terms of the agreement, Array will acquire STI Norland for approximately €570M (~$653.4M) in cash and stock. Guggenheim Securities acted as a financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis acted as a legal advisor. Lazard acted as financial advisor and Allen & Overy as legal advisor to STI Norland.
5N Plus, a producer of semiconductors and performance materials, has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of AZUR SPACE Solar Power for €74.6 million (~$86.3 million). Germany-based AZUR is a developer and manufacturer of multi-junction solar cells based on III-V compound semiconductor materials.
Brivo, a smart building company providing cloud-based access control and video surveillance products for physical security and internet of things applications, and Crown PropTech Acquisitions, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Brivo becoming a publicly listed company. The transaction values the company at a pro forma enterprise value of $808 million. Upon closing, the combined company will operate as Brivo, and its Class A common stock is expected to be listed under the ticker symbol BRVS.
Aker Horizons, which invests in and develops companies within renewable energy sectors, has completed a private placement raising NOK 1 billion (~$116.7 million) in gross proceeds to strengthen Aker Horizons’ balance sheet ahead of investments in its portfolio companies and new direct investments. The company will issue 28,985,507 new shares at NOK 34.50 (~$4.02) per share. The private placement was over-subscribed multiple times. Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited was allocated 13,500,000 shares, representing 46.6% of the total share issue and resulting in an ownership of 4.6% Aker Horizons. Carnegie AS, DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, and Morgan Stanley & Co. International acted as joint bookrunners and managers for the private placement. Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS acted as legal advisor to the company, and Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS acted as legal advisor to the managers in the private placement.
ADT, a U.S.-based electronic security provider for residences and small and large businesses, has signed an agreement to acquire Sunpro Solar for $160 million in cash and 77.8 million shares of ADT common stock, implying a total value of around $825 million. With this acquisition, ADT will enter the rooftop solar business to offer its consumer’s rooftop services and rebrand Sunpro to ‘ADT Solar.’ It will expand its presence to offer a complementary suite of security, smart home, and solar products and services to residential consumers in the U.S. The cash proceeds will be used for debt reduction and sellers’ taxes. The transaction will be completed by the end of this year. As a part of the acquisition, ADT will assume around $20 million in vehicle loans and leases. Sunpro’s all other existing debt will be retired with the cash proceeds received from ADT at closing.
novotegra, an independent subsidiary of BayWa r.e., is acquiring PV Integ, a Swiss mounting systems manufacturer based in Ebikon. The acquisition will add a key new technology to the company’s product range. PV Integ specializes in the development and sale of mounting systems for green and gravel-topped roofs.
U.K. renewable energy and battery storage developer Harmony Energy has raised gross proceeds of ?186.5 million (~$251 million) to fund a battery storage rollout through the placing and offer for subscription of its Initial Public Offering (IPO). First announced last month through the company’s investment fund Harmony Energy Income Trust, the IPO has seen the company issue 210 million ordinary shares at a price of ?1 each. Applications have been made for the admission of these shares to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange’s main market.
Alternus Energy Group, an independent power producer, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Solis Bond company DAC, has completed a tap issue of €20 million (~$23.14 million) of its senior secured green bond issue. Arctic Securities acted as financial adviser and sole bookrunner. The proceeds’ intended use is the acquisition of 14 operational Polish PV assets totaling 14 MW and one Italian PV asset (1 MWp) in addition to the recapitalization of an existing Italian park.
Ample, an electric vehicle battery swapping startup, raised a $50 million total investment from Blackstone, with additional participation from Banco Santander. Blackstone will also be joining our board of directors. The bulk of this round came from The Blackstone Group, which provided $25 million, with Banco providing the remainder. Ample has raised $260 million to date.
EnPowered, the on-bill payment platform for the energy industry, has secured CAD$12 million over two rounds, led by Version One Ventures and Golden Ventures in the Seed round and Inovia in the Seed+ Round. The leading investors for the Seed Round were Version One Ventures and Golden Ventures, with First Star Ventures, Panache Ventures, and Union Capital Partners following. Inovia Capital led the Seed+ Round, followed by Global Founders Capital and Active Impact Investments. EnPowered also announced a new addition to its board – Boris Wertz (Version One Ventures) would be a powerful addition to the existing team.
Nostromo Energy, an Israel-based provider of sustainable energy storage solutions to commercial and industrial buildings, based on its proprietary IceBrick technology, raised $9.1 million in equity financing. The round was by Migdal Group, investing approximately $7 million, and Freepoint Commodities, a Stamford, CT-based commodities and energy trading company and developer of renewable energy projects investing $2 million.
Intellihub shareholder Pacific Equity Partners announced the Green Loan certification to allow Intellihub to access important additional sources of green-linked financial capital. The new green loan facility has been arranged by ANZ, BNP, Crédit Agricole, MUFG, NAB, SMBC and Société Générale, with ANZ acting as sole Green Loan Coordinator for Intellihub.
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Read last week’s funding roundup.