L R AS Published on Monday 17 January 2022 - n° 389 - Categories:industrial strategy
Acquisitions in brief : Vinci, Eurazeo, ENI, Blackstone, KGAL, IEL
Vinci Autoroutes is launching a solar energy business under the name Solarvia. It will develop photovoltaic projects
https://www.greenunivers.com/2022/01/vinci-autoroutes-devient-developpeur-solaire-277495/
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Eurazeo acquires 80% of Belgian developer and builder Ikaros Solar. This company is mainly active in the segment of large PV roofs on industrial and tertiary buildings. It has installed 200 MW and has a development portfolio of 300 MW. It operates in the Benelux countries, Portugal, the United Kingdom and France.
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In 2021, the Breton group IEL - Initiatives et Energies Locales - will commission 8 solar farms totalling 40 MWp and 4 wind farms totalling 20 MWp.
https://tecsol.blogs.com/mon_weblog/page/2/
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Italy's ENI has acquired the Greek business of Solar Konzept International, controlled by Aquila Capital, the Hamburg-based investment manager.
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US financier Blackstone invests $3 billion in US battery manufacturer Invenergy
Editor's note As a good financier, Blackstone knows that his money will be well invested in this battery manufacturer. Indeed, the battery sector needs to develop strongly, as it is an essential accessory for renewable energies, which are intermittent. The financier can only win, either in the manufacturer's business with the profits that will be made, or if business goes badly, in the acquisition of the company itself.
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KGAL Investment Management is acquiring 25% of each of GP Joule's projects for its KGAL ESPF 4 and KGAL ESPF 5 funds.
Since its creation in 2009, GP Joule has developed more than 20 wind farms and 130 solar farms with a total capacity of over 1,000 megawatts. KGAL has been one of the buyers on several occasions.
GP Joule intends to use the funds for the further development of existing projects, but even more so for the expansion of the portfolio.
https://strom-report.de/strom/#strommix-2021-deutschland
Editor's note Investments by foreign groups in photovoltaics indicate that they see a bright future for solar power. They have the ability to buy teams, because the design and development profession cannot be improvised. Generally speaking, even investments made by financial institutions in industrial companies are failures or lead to the stagnation of acquisitions because the business is different. What a professional company director sees as being in the best interests of the business is not felt in the same way by a financier who wants quick profits, often to the detriment of the company's long-term future.
This means that third-party investment in photovoltaics is not synonymous with success.
On top of this, there is the constant need for fresh capital to make up the equity of power plant projects. The financier or buying group must therefore agree to finance photovoltaic companies over the long term and be able to increase the value of its capital over the long term. They will very quickly need to add new capital to launch new projects. This frequent need for capital disturbs financial decision-makers. What's more, the horizon is often too long for the investor, who wants to make a quick profit.
The mindset is too different
