Posts Tagged ‘private equity’
11th March 2010
James Hall-Smith of HSBC discusses the drivers behind the growth of the European renewable energy scene and the opportunities this affords to infrastructure investors and project financiers alike.
‘I think there is an increased interest from a corporate governance and sustainability perspective. This makes many institutions focus on this area. There is also a recognition of the drivers behind environmental infrastructure, from the fundamentals of creating the best opportunity to tackling climate change, whilst also looking to gain energy security and satisfy the social and political drivers.’
11th March 2010
Sensata Technologies, a maker of sensor and controls technology for applications including alternative fuel vehicles and solar panels, has raised $568.8m from its initial public offering, with shares to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow.
10th March 2010
Clean energy investment management firm Plane Tree Capital has appointed David Harrison as its non-executive chairman where he joins from Macquarie Infrastructure Group
8th March 2010
Listed energy developer Bergamo Acquisition has announced a new, $500m solar power project for the Republic of Lebanon.
8th March 2010
US private equity firm US Renewables Group (USRG) has formed Westerly Wind to provide development capital to wind developers.
5th March 2010
After a somewhat weak start to the new calendar year, the value of private equity investment in cleantech companies surged by 133 per cent in February to $547m from $235m in January 2010 and significantly improved year-on-year to stand more than three times higher than the $149m recorded in February 2009, according to a report from ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk, compiled exclusively for NewNet.
3rd March 2010
Spring Capital Asia, a private equity firm investing exclusively in China and Hong Kong, has held a second closing of its debut fund on $184m and tied up an investment in Qingdao Wuxiao Group, a wind and electricity tower manufacturer based in the Shandong Province of mainland China.
11th February 2010
US energy developer Element Power has recently acquired a 1.4 GW portfolio of wind development assets from EcoEnergy, for an undisclosed price.
11th February 2010
Solar technology company SunPower Corp has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SunRay Renewable Energy, a European solar power plant developer with offices in Europe and the Middle East, including a principal project office in Rome. SunPower will acquire SunRay from its shareholders, which includes its management and private equity firm Denham Capital.
11th February 2010
Ormat Technologies, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ormat Nevada, has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the membership interests in HSS II, which includes the Hot Sulphur Springs Geothermal Project in the northern Independence Valley of northeast Nevada, US. Ormat is aquiring the interest from its current owners, private equity funds managed by Energy Investors Funds.
5th February 2010
There was limited private equity investment in cleantech companies in January, with just 14 deals worth $163m, which represented a month-on-month decline of 82 per cent from $919m in December 2009, according to ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk, exclusively for NewNet.
26th January 2010
The UK Innovation Investment Fund is off the ground with the first closing of the £125m Hermes Private Equity environmental innovation fund. The fund of funds will continue to seek further funding from investors.
8th January 2010
Clean water technology company HaloSource has raised $10m from new investors to support the further commercialisation of its water purification business.
7th January 2010
One sector within the private equity industry which has been faring better than most is the energy provision and energy management industry, where a number of developments have benefited the market, according to Dan Hatcher, a partner at Gresham Private Equity.
5th January 2010
Mid-market London-based growth investor Lyceum Capital has acquired McKinnon & Clarke (M&C), one of the largest energy procurement and compliance specialists in Europe, for £22m (€24.5m).
4th January 2010
With a new name and a new managing partner, London-based venture capital firm Frog Capital is focused on taking a more discerning approach to new investment opportunities.
‘There is a great deal of change going on in the cleantech market and we firmly believe that the strong entrepreneurial-led management teams we are seeing in some small to mid-sized businesses in the sector are more capable of dealing with change than most larger companies.’
4th January 2010
The board of directors of Indian chemicals company Himadri Chemicals and Industries has approved an issuance of 6.31 million shares to private equity firm Bain Capital India Investments, at Rs 400 per share, resulting in an equity raise of Rs 252 crores ($54m).
23rd December 2009
Steve Westly discusses the opportunities for US clean technology investors, the long-term prospects for the sector, and the role of global government in stimulating the industry’s growth.
‘What people are realising is that while it never hurts to be smart, most of our entrepreneurs need someone who can navigate government because so much of this industry is government-based and government-dependent.’
15th December 2009
US venture capital firm Beringea has invested in Oxford, Michigan-based Relume Technologies, a manufacturer of light-emitting diode (LED) products and smart grid control systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
11th December 2009
UK’s development finance institution CDC Group has today committed €10m to an investment fund that will back renewable energy projects in India and other developing countries in Asia.
10th December 2009
The UK government has announced the appointment of Hermes Private Equity and the European Investment Fund (EIF) as fund-of-fund managers for the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF).
1st December 2009
Mark Nydam discusses the advantages of funds of funds as a means to access clean energy assets, the challenges of fluctuating energy prices and why institutional investors should increasingly be looking to the sector.
‘Institutional investors tend to have a lot of capital at their fingertips and enjoy investing larger amounts so I believe there is a nice agreement between what the space requires and what the institutional investors can provide.’
17th November 2009
Cleantech Invest, a Berne and Frankfurt stock exchange listed venture capital fund focusing on cleantech investments in the German-speaking region, has increased its stake in SiC Processing.
12th November 2009
US private investment firm Meidlinger Partners has held a first closing on its latest investment vehicle, Meidlinger Partners Sustainable Investments.
9th November 2009
The volume of private equity deals targeting cleantech companies was at its lowest level since January; just eight deals were signed off in four weeks, representing a 38 per cent month-on-month decline from 13 deals in September, according to this monthly cleantech report prepared by ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing exclusively for NewNet.
3rd November 2009
Nino Tronchetti Provera discusses the impact of the economic downturn on the clean energy space and what lies ahead for Italy in the race to achieve a greener economy.
‘Italy is a big player in energy because it is a country without traditional energy sources. Unfortunately, Italy lost the opportunity to build an industrial sector out of the demand for solar and wind. The big potential for Italy lies with energy efficiency.’
30th October 2009
Boston-based private equity firm Global Energy Investors has formed to target investments in renewable energy power generation projects.
30th October 2009
Olympus Capital has reportedly closed its Asia Environmental Partners fund on $250m.
26th October 2009
A group of founding investors announced the formation of NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm based in New York. The fund will invest in mid-market companies and related infrastructure projects in the clean energy industry in the US and selectively in Europe.
23rd October 2009
Dushy Sivanithy of Pantheon Ventures looks at the problems created by inexperienced managers, why cleantech presents a pan-European opportunity and how he gains access to the best funds.
‘We do view it as a huge opportunity and one that will only grow from here which is why we will continue to look at it very carefully. The energy and water sectors are just so vast that the scope for opportunities is immense. Accessing an investable opportunity however is more challenging.’
8th October 2009
US private equity saw 72 funds raising $25.2bn in the third quarter, a 70 per cent decline from the same period last year. Through the first nine months of 2009, 265 private equity funds raised $79.9bn, down 59 per cent from the $195bn raised by 315 funds at the same time last year, according to new analysis by Dow Jones.
8th October 2009
Private equity firm Ambienta has closed its Ambienta I fund on €217.5m. The firm said it was Europe’s largest private equity fund specialising in environmental investments. The fund had an initial target of €250m.
6th October 2009
UK waste treatment and renewable energy company New Earth Solutions Group has completed a first close of its £15m equity fundraising announced in August 2009 with a £5m investment by AIM-listed cleantech investment company Ludgate Environmental Fund.
25th September 2009
Renewable fuel company LS9 has completed a $25m round of funding. Participating investors included CTTV Investments, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures; Flagship Ventures; Khosla Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
24th September 2009
US online solar provider Sungevity has raised an additional $6m led by Greener Capital, a San Francisco cleantech venture capital firm and has appointed three new senior executives.
21st September 2009
Environmental investment manager Impax Asset Management appoints John McDonald as head of Sales and marketing
21st September 2009
Cleantech venture capital firm Emerald Technology Ventures, has added to the firm’s General Partnership. Whitney Rockley comes to Emerald with a strong cleantech venture capital track record as well as industrial technology operations experience.
14th September 2009
Private equity investment in cleantech companies fell in August despite record levels of overall investment in the sector. Value fell to a 12-month low of just $86m, marking a decline of more than two thirds from $266m in July and a 60 per cent drop year-on-year, according to this monthly cleantech report prepared by ZEPHYR and Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing exclusively for NewNet.
11th September 2009
Crédit Agricole Private Equity has acquired a stake in Italian green energy producer Elettrostudio Energia. The raising of the new equity financing was structured by Crédit Agricole Private Equity via its FCPR Capenergie fund, providing €4.5m, and by FriulAdria, Crédit Agricole’s Italian banking subsidiary, which has provided €500,000.
9th September 2009
Independent power development company Sithe Global Power, through its wholly-owned affiliate, Goreway Luxembourg Holdings, has sold a 25 per cent ownership interest in Goreway Station, an 875MW combined cycle power generating facility, to Chubu Electric Power Goreway, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power Company, Inc. and Toyota Tsusho Goreway Netherlands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
26th August 2009
Private equity firm Terra Firma has acquired Everpower Wind Holdings, a developing US wind energy business. The deal is believed to be worth around $350m.
26th August 2009
Duncan Grierson discusses the challenges in gaining venture funding for a cleantech start-up, the growth of opportunities in the waste and recycling space across Europe and the need for governments to provide drivers to encourage investment in emerging environmental technologies.
‘It is extremely important for governments to put in place these broad economic drivers. But it would be a mistake for governments to make technology choices. Once the financial drivers and mechanisms are in place, then governments should leave the market to decide which are technically and commercially the best technologies to build out.’
25th August 2009
Hong Kong’s Abax Global Capital, a hedge fund manager backed by Morgan Stanley, plans to launch a private equity fund in China, according to a Bloomberg report. The fund will focus on investments in companies creating environmentally friendly products.
24th August 2009
Venrock, a multinational venture capital firm originally established as the venture arm of the Rockefeller family, said that Matthew Nordan, co-founder and former president of Lux Research, has joined the firm as a vice president to focus on energy, environmental and materials technologies from Venrock’s Cambridge, Massachusetts office.
18th August 2009
Early stage venture capital firm OVP Venture Partners has led a $14m Series B funding round for US green materials company Novomer, according to reports.
17th August 2009
NGP Energy Technology Partners has closed its NGP Energy Technology Partners II fund on $348m, exceeding its $300m target.
13th August 2009
Gijsbert Nollen discusses the opportunities for clean energy investments in Southeast Asia, why he is turned off by biofuels, and what the future holds for the region.
‘If the past two years is any precedent more and more Asian domestic companies will be established developing and refining their technologies in the bioenergy sector and ramping up development. The real success stories will be centered around locally adapted and developed technologies and research and local business entrepreneurs.’
11th August 2009
Significant increase in M&A activity is expected in the Indian renewable energy sector, as wave of consolidation hits the industry, according to Ernst & Young’s Renewable energy in India - the evolving dynamics report.
11th August 2009
VirtenSys, a provider of virtualisation technologies for servers and storage platforms, has secured $16m in funding to grow the company’s revenues and broaden its markets and operations worldwide.
7th August 2009
Renewable energy investment firm Rockfield Energy has completed a €30m funding package to finance the growth of Imperative Energy, a leading of renewable energy (heat, steam and electricity) generated from biomass.
