Merger & acquisition (M&A) activity within and across the sustainability market remained very strong in January 2024. Indeed, Sustainable Tech Partner tracked 70 M&A deals involving green IT services, renewable energy, climate tech, IT asset disposition (ITAD), e-waste reduction, and consulting during the month.
Related: Search our M&A Database for a List of All Mergers & Acquisitions
Buyers, sellers and investors in January 2024 included ESG (environmental, social and governance) consulting companies, renewable energy firms, software providers, technology businesses, private equity firms and plenty more. Still, buyers and investors rarely disclosed deal valuations -- so it's difficult to pinpoint the overall health and investor interest in the sector.
For some context, here's a look at each of the 70 M&A deals that we spotted in January 2024:
A. Renewable Energy M&A (Solar, Wind, Hydro, Bio)
1. Hydro Power - Vietnam: NexifRatch Energy Investments has acquired a hydro power plant with peak hour storage located in Lao Cai province, Vietnam, The Asset reported. The seller was Nam Tien Group. The buyer is a joint venture company owned 51% by Nexif Energy of Singapore and 49% by Ratch Group of Thailand, the report said.
2. Sustainable Power: Pacolet Milliken, a sustainability-focused, family-owned investment firm, has acquired Piedmont Green Power from Atlantic Power & Utilities. Piedmont operates a 55 MW biomass-fired power plant located in Barnesville, Georgia. Manulife financed the deal. Valuation terms were not disclosed.
3. Solar Financing: Sunstone Credit, Inc., a clean energy financing platform that helps businesses go solar, has acquired ORKA Finance, a technology-enabled commercial solar lender. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
4. Renewable Energy - Greece: Macquarie Asset Management has acquired 50% of Enel Green Power Hellas for roughly €250 million. Enel Green Power Hellas is a renewable energy developer and operator in Greece, with a 566 MW portfolio of onshore wind, solar, and hydropower projects in operation or under construction across its mainland and islands, Macquarie said.
5. Renewable Energy - Necada and More: Ormat Technologies has completed the acquisition of geothermal and solar assets from Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA), a subsidiary of Enel SpA. Ormat paid $271 million for the assets -- which are located in Nevada, Utah, Connecticut and California. The original announcement was deal number 145 in our 2023 M&A list.
6. Renewable Energy - United States: Energy Capital Partners (ECP) has acquired Triple Oak Power from EnCap Energy Transition Fund I and its co-investors, Yorktown Partners and Mercuria Energy. Triple Oak develops and monetizes renewable energy projects to accelerate the U.S. transition to renewable energy. Financial Terms were not disclosed.
7. Joint Venture: Bitech Technologies Corp. and Bridgelink Development have signed a letter of intent to launch a joint venture with "an undisclosed larger infrastructure group." The effort "aims to accelerate the development and deployment of renewable energy projects in the United States, particularly in Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana.
8-10. Renewable Energy - Three Purchases: Qualitas Energy, an investment firm based in Madrid, Spain, has acquired three companies so far in 2024. The acquired businesses include a:
- 55% stake in the project rights for the re-powering of a wind farm in Eastern Germany. The seller was European Energy, a Danish renewable energy company.
- Wind energy project pipeline with a total capacity of 96 MW in Germany. The deal involves four wind projects located in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, Germany.
- Solar PV and storage assets business in North Carolina. The deal involves Heelstone Renewable Energy. Ares Management was the seller.
- Financial terms of each deal were not disclosed.
11. Solar and Battery Storage Projects: Sterling Power Opportunities, a subsidiary of Galway Sustainable Capital, has acquired a majority interest in Forsite Renewables, a developer of solar and battery storage projects in Charlotte, North Carolina. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
12. Private Equity and Solar Infrastructure: Schroders Greencoat, a fund managed by private equity firm Schroders Capital, is acquiring 53 solar farms in the UK from Toucan Energy at a value of roughly £700 million (US$888 million).
13. Solar Energy - United States Northeast: Altus Power has acquired various solar power infrastructure from Vitol for $118 million. The deal includes thousands of long-term solar customers served by a mix of rooftop, ground and carport arrays in the U.S. Northeast region, the buyer said.
14. Wind Farms - Norway: Eviny has acquired two wind farms from BlackRock for €537.5 million (US$585.44 million). Eviny is one of Norway's largest energy and technology groups, the organization said. The acquired wind farms are located in Guleslettene and Tellenes, Norway.
15. UK Renewable Energy Projects: Cubico Sustainable Investments has acquired Peel NRE’s 50% stake in Peel Cubico Renewables, the strategic joint venture focused on the development of renewable energy projects in the UK. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
16. Solar Energy and Storage Solutions: Aggreko has acquired the UK and South African based businesses of RenEnergy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
17. Financial Services & Renewable Energy: Commerzbank AG has acquired Aquila Capital -- which specializes in renewable energies and infrastructure projects. The deal will allow Commerzbank to "significantly drive forward the energy transition in Germany and Europe," the buyer said.
18. Infrastructure Investing: General Atlantic has acquired sustainable infrastructure investor Actis. The combined businesses will have $96 billion in assets under management (AUM). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Related: Search our M&A Database for a List of All Mergers & Acquisitions
Continue to page two of the article for M&A deals 19 and beyond for January 2024.
