Renewable Energy Acquisitions in 2020

Esdec, a global rooftop solar mounting solutions provider, has acquired PanelClaw, the leading U.S. commercial flat-roof PV racking supplier. The acquisition expands Esdec's U.S. market share and product portfolio in the commercial & industrial solar segment; financial terms were not disclosed.

SER Capital Partners acquired three project companies from Texas-based developer HGP in September 2020 to deploy battery storage projects across Texas. As part of the investment SER entered a strategic equipment arrangement with LG Chem and committed approximately $70 million of equity to support deployment and grid resiliency efforts.

Sunpro Solar, a New Orleans-based top-five U.S. residential solar provider operating in 16 states with more than 1,700 employees, received growth capital investments from Compass Group Equity Partners, MGG Investment Group, TGP Investments and Millstone Capital Advisors. The minority investments will support Sunpro's continued growth and geographic expansion across North America; Lincoln International served as Sunpro's exclusive financial advisor.

Sigora Solar acquired Rancho Cordova-based Aztec Solar in a strategic move to expand its geographic footprint into California, increasing its service territory to cover over half of the U.S. population. Aztec Solar will continue day-to-day operations while gradually integrating into Sigora's back-end systems and technology platform.

Altus Power America, Inc. acquired a 4-megawatt operating solar portfolio in Georgia consisting of four single-axis tracker projects and one fixed-tilt project from Beltline Energy, LLC. The projects sell power to Georgia Power and generate roughly 6.5 million kWh annually; the acquisition expands Altus Power's C&I-scale distributed generation portfolio and strengthens its presence in the Southeast.

KK Wind Solutions has acquired Gram & Juhl A/S, a Denmark-based supplier of turbine condition monitoring solutions (TCM). The deal, effective October 1, 2020, expands KK Wind Solutions' digital product offering—strengthening its capabilities in condition monitoring, sensors and cloud-based services to accelerate aftermarket and predictive-maintenance solutions; terms were not disclosed.

First State Investments (FSI) has agreed to acquire a 40% stake in renewable-energy developer and operator Terra‑Gen from Energy Capital Partners (ECP); terms were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close in Q4 2020 or early 2021 subject to regulatory approvals. Terra‑Gen, headquartered in New York, owns and operates utility-scale wind, solar, energy storage and geothermal assets (over 1,600 MW operating and more than 3,000 MW under advanced development); FSI said the investment will help execute the company’s growth plan.

The Rise Fund (part of TPG) and newly created, Madrid-based Matrix Renewables have acquired approximately 1 GW of operational, under-construction, and near ready-to-build solar PV projects from Trina Solar. The assets—located across Spain, Chile, Colombia and Mexico—will form the initial portfolio of Matrix Renewables as TPG and The Rise Fund build a global renewable energy platform.

Spruce Finance acquired Clearway Energy's entire portfolio of residential rooftop solar assets, adding 53 MW and expanding Spruce's portfolio by roughly 20% to more than 250 MW. The deal supports Spruce's growth-by-acquisition strategy for distributed generation residential solar in the U.S.; Energy Service Experts (Spruce's subsidiary) will provide transitional asset management services in partnership with NRG.

New Mountain Capital has partnered with Pearce Services to support Pearce’s growth and build a national, technology-enabled infrastructure services platform. Simultaneously, Pearce acquired MaxGen Energy Services and World Wind & Solar, bringing renewable wind, solar and EV charging operations & maintenance capabilities into the combined Pearce Services platform; terms were not disclosed.

Dutch investment firm NPM Capital has acquired majority stakes in Greenspread (Woudenberg) and Solaris Industria (Utrecht), two developers and operators of solar PV and sustainable energy projects. The businesses will be integrated with NPM's existing rooftop platform Rooftop Energy to accelerate scale-up of large solar installations in the Netherlands; investor Ivo Priem (via Livermore TC) will sell his stake in Greenspread.

Aurica Capital has taken a 41.5% minority stake in STI Norland through its Aurica III fund, providing growth capital to the Pamplona-based manufacturer of large-scale photovoltaic trackers and mounting structures. The investment will support STI Norland's international expansion and continued product and service development; financial terms were not disclosed.

EDF Group has acquired Pod Point, the UK’s largest independent electric vehicle (EV) charging network, in a purchase that marks an exit for investor Panoramic Growth Fund 2. The deal positions EDF to accelerate rollout of charging infrastructure across the UK (and support its ambitions in France, Italy and Belgium) and expands EDF’s capabilities in electric mobility.

Siemens AG will acquire Iberdrola S.A.'s 8.1% stake in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) for €20.00 per share, a total of approximately €1.1 billion. The deal settles legal disputes between the parties, and Siemens will contribute SGRE shares to the upcoming Siemens Energy spin-off—resulting in Siemens Energy holding roughly 67% of SGRE voting rights—and expects additional savings and synergies from the transaction.