DIF Capital Partners will acquire a majority stake in Stockholm-headquartered Alight, a leading developer of subsidy-free solar projects in the Nordics. The agreement includes an investment of EUR 150 million and a secondary buy-out of a number of existing shareholders. With the capital raised, Alight will accelerate the buildout of its near term pipeline of solar projects.

The company will do so by building out and retaining ownership of projects going forward and aiding the transition into an independent power producer. Alight built its foundation in the Nordic solar market by offering solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) to major commercial and industrial (C&I) power users, and has developed several of Sweden’s largest solar parks in addition to delivering multiple onsite solar solutions. The investment will enable Alight to accelerate its build-out of new solar projects in the Nordics and more broadly across Europe.

Commenting on the investment, Alight CEO Dr Harald Overholm said: “I am proud of Alight’s journey so far and this investment will accelerate our leadership in the subsidy-free solar build-out. Our delivery of solar-as-a-service to major power users makes us a natural partner to companies of all sizes and industries. We are excited to work closely with DIF on progressing the corporate transition to renewables; they share our vision for the industry and the urgency of our work to accelerate the energy transition. Corporate power usage accounts for up to 70% of global electricity consumption, so making a prompt and effective shift to renewable energy is crucial. Solar remains the cheapest and quickest energy source to scale, so building more to deliver energy security and reduce emissions is crucial.”

Nine years on from its founding in 2013, Alight is now a leader in Europe’s commercial solar roll-out through its subsidy-free approach to solar PPAs. In its native Nordics, Alight has over 1 GW pipeline of projects under development, much of which will be built out within the next 24 months. Alight also has an additional 170 MW pipeline under development across Europe.

Commenting on their investment in Alight, Gijs Voskuyl, Partner of DIF and Head of Investments for DIF Infrastructure VII, said: “We have been impressed by Alight’s track record as a first mover in the growing Nordic solar market, in addition to their top quality customer-led approach to winning long-term solar contracts. We also share Alight’s vision on how to accelerate the energy transition in Europe and more specifically for their C&I customers, whilst also providing them with energy security at low cost in the current high power price environment. Alight’s team and outlook are a strong foundation to build upon and we are pleased to take this step, enabling Alight to realise its growth ambitions.”

Having set an initial target to build 1 GW of solar assets by 2025, Alight now aims to have 5 GW of PPA-backed solar projects delivered across the Nordics and Europe by 2030. Alight’s PPAs protect major power users from price surges by offering fixed prices on 10-20 year contracts. Alight is also leading the Swedish market roll out of co-located battery storage, a key component of ensuring that grid stability copes with the solar roll-out.

In October this year, Alight announced Sweden’s largest co-located solar-plus-storage plant to be completed in December at a 12 MW solar park in Linköping. Alight developed and operates Sweden’s largest operational solar park, an 18 MW asset developed for Martin & Servera in Skurup. The company aims to bring forward co-location storage on future projects and retrofit existing assets to include storage.

Alight was advised by Newsec Infra (financial) and Mannheimer Swartling (legal adviser). DIF was advised by Augusta & Co (financial) and DLA Piper (legal).

About Alight
Alight is a leading Nordic solar developer and Independent Power Producer, co-founded in 2013 by Dr Harald Overholm, Richard Nicolin and Wilhelm Lowenhielm to usher in a new era of solar power to businesses seeking to go greener. With an entirely subsidy-free business model, Alight develops and operates solar projects, onsite and offsite, across Europe. By 2030 Alight is set to have an installed capacity of at least 5 GW backed with solar PPA contracts. Alight is the leading solar PPA provider in the Nordics – with customers including Swedbank, Nolato, Kingspan and Toyota – and is developing more than 1 GW of PPA-based projects across Sweden, with a further 170 MW under development across the rest of Europe. In 2021, Alight joined the United Nations Global Compact as part of its support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with more than EUR 14 billion in assets under management across eleven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

• Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VII is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
• DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 200 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Diederik Heinink, d.heinink@dif.eu

• EQT Ventures III holds final close at EUR 1 billion of fee-generating commitments, and EUR 1.1 billion of total commitments, to invest in European and North American early-stage tech startups
• The Fund, which includes participation from a wide range of European, North American and Asian institutional investors, foundations, and endowments, will make investments of EUR 1-50 million in founder-led startups using technology to try and solve some of the biggest challenges facing society
• EQT Ventures III brings total commitments raised across the EQT Ventures Funds to EUR 2.3 billion since launching in 2016. The EQT Ventures Funds have completed over 100 investments, of which nine have reached a valuation above EUR 1 billion and 18 have been exited. EQT Ventures III has already led investments in 13 companies, including Juni, Nothing, Knoetic and Candela
• EQT Ventures III and EQT Growth together bring EUR 3.5 billion of new commitments to invest in early- and growth-stage technology companies, cementing EQT’s position as a leading tech investor

Stockholm, 9 November 2022 – EQT has closed Europe’s largest venture capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. EQT Ventures III (the “Fund” or “Ventures III”) closed with total commitments of EUR 1.1 billion, of which EUR 1 billion is fee-generating, bringing the total commitments raised across the EQT Ventures’ Funds to EUR 2.3 billion since launching in 2016.

Taking place during a time of market uncertainty, the successful fundraise is evidence that investors still have an appetite for early-stage technology focused funds despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, turning to proven and high-conviction teams with a hands-on approach.

The EQT Ventures Funds have made over 100 investments in six years, including nine companies that have reached a EUR 1bn+ valuation, including Wolt, Small Giant Games, Einride, Handshake, Netlify and Instabox (today Instabee). The Fund has already backed and supported 13 companies as the lead investor. EQT Ventures III will continue to support companies using technology to solve some of the biggest challenges facing society by investing in sectors such as climate tech, food tech, the creator economy, energy, fintech, software, data & IT infrastructure, deep tech and more.

The Fund’s global investor base – with institutional investors, foundations and endowments across Europe, the Americas and APAC – reflects its international presence and outlook. From its offices in six countries, the EQT Ventures Advisory Team is focusing on helping founders expand their businesses globally – European startups into the US and vice versa. The EQT Ventures Funds currently have portfolio companies in 16 geographies.

Lars Jörnow, Partner at EQT Ventures, said: “EQT Ventures was founded to give entrepreneurs the investor that we would have wanted on our company board. Now, with a freshly raised EUR 1.1 billion, an advisory team of founders and operators, and being backed by EQT, one of the world’s biggest tech investors, EQT Ventures is here to continue the journey as half startup, half VC, investing holistically in early-stage tech startups, giving founders a fast track to scale.”

The EUR 1.1 billion close of EQT Ventures III follows the recent close of the EQT Growth fund, at EUR 2.4 billion in total commitments, cementing EQT’s position as a leading tech investor. EQT Ventures and EQT Growth are both committed to investing in high growth private tech companies; they are two separate business divisions, with separate funds and advisory teams. EQT Ventures makes initial investments between EUR 1-50 million, while EQT Growth makes initial investments between EUR 50-200 million at later stages of the company growth journey.

Per Franzén, Head of Private Capital and Deputy Managing Partner at EQT, said: “Coming shortly after the close of EQT Growth, EQT Ventures’ successful fundraise is a real vote of confidence in EQT’s active ownership approach to investing. The capital raised across both funds means EQT has now raised new commitments of EUR 3.5 billion to private market tech, consolidating our position as one of the world’s largest tech investors. By driving collaboration across EQT Private Capital we will continue to be at the forefront of technology investing across strategies.”

Alastair Mitchell, Partner at EQT Ventures, concluded: “Now is the time to back category leaders, those driving innovation to change the world for the better. EQT Ventures was set up to give founders the best chance of reaching scale, irrespective of the macroeconomic climate. We’re an advisory team of founders and operators that have weathered cycles and have experience creating global businesses. The Fund will double down on EQT Ventures’ proven European track record, while continuing to grow the impressive portfolio of US startups scaling internationally.”

The EQT Ventures funds are advised by over 40 founders and operators across offices in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Berlin and Paris with a 50/50 gender split. With the new fund, the advisory team will be able to grow further by hiring in Europe and the US, with the ultimate goal of making EQT Ventures the most supportive early-stage investor across both markets.

The team’s guidance to the portfolio is assisted by its proprietary AI market intelligence tool, EQT Motherbrain. Motherbrain is used to source investment opportunities – having assisted EQT Ventures source 15 investments to date, representing EUR 200m of invested capital in total. It also provides market intelligence to founders within the EQT Ventures portfolio.

Contact
James Hartwell, Kekst CNC, james.hartwell@kekstcnc.com, +44 7870 487 532
Sofie Grant, sofie@eqtventures.com

About EQT Ventures
The EQT Ventures Funds pursue an early-stage strategy, partnering with the most ambitious and boldest founders in Europe and the US. The funds are based in Luxembourg and have investment advisors stationed in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Berlin and Paris. Fuelled by experienced company builders and scalers, EQT Ventures helps the next generation of entrepreneurs with the capital and hands-on support needed to build global winners.

More info: www.eqtventures.com
Follow EQT Ventures on LinkedIn