Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to invest a total of AUD 700 million in the development of a large-scale renewable energy platform in Australia on behalf of its clients. The platform, which will be known locally as Grassroots Renewable Energy Platform (“Grassroots”), will be seeded with the 270MW Sapphire Wind Farm project and will in addition construct over 1.3GW of new wind power, solar power and battery storage assets across Australia within the next four years. To realize the Grassroots platform, Partners Group has teamed with local developer CWP Renewables (“CWP”), also an investor in the project.

Partners Group first joined forces with CWP in 2016 when it announced an AUD 250 million investment into Sapphire Wind Farm, a 270MW development project located in the state of New South Wales. Sapphire Wind Farm, which is due to be completed by October 2018, will generate enough energy to power 110,000 Australian households and offset over 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions during every year of operation. There are also plans to launch a community co-investment project at Sapphire Wind Farm in late 2018, which will enable members of the neighboring community to participate in the financial benefits from the sale of renewable electricity.

The second project under the Grassroots platform will be Crudine Ridge Wind Farm, a 135MW construction-ready wind farm near Mudgee in New South Wales. Construction will begin in May 2018 and will be completed by September 2019. Crudine Ridge Wind Farm will consist of 37 GE 3.63MW turbines and, once operational, will provide a further 400GWhrs of annual power output to the grid, enough to serve 55,000 homes. Half of this energy has been sold to Powershop, an Australian electricity provider that provides 100% green energy to its retail customers. The wind farm is also expected to support 75 full-time equivalent jobs during construction, stimulating further investment in local businesses and services, and deliver more than eight million tonnes of carbon emissions abatement over its lifetime.

In addition to Crudine Ridge Wind Farm, there are a number of other pipeline projects for Grassroots, which comprise a combination of wind, solar and battery storage assets.

Benjamin Haan, Partner, Head Private Infrastructure Asia-Pacific, Partners Group, states: “When we invested in Sapphire Wind Farm, one of the key attractions for us was the project’s potential to anchor an Australian renewable energy platform. Partners Group and CWP have a project pipeline of 1.3GW in generation capacity across wind and solar power, offering the scope to be selective and develop Grassroots into a quality renewables platform of significant scale. We look forward to working with the CWP team to further support the generation of clean energy in Australia.”

To-date, Partners Group has developed around 2GW of solar and wind energy capacity on behalf of its clients across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia. Previous investments include a 550MW Taiwanese solar power development platform and the 240MW Ararat Wind Farm development in Australia, which Partners Group invested into in August 2016 and June 2015, respectively. Most recently, Partners Group announced the sale of its stake in Japan Solar, a 610MW platform of Japanese Solar power assets, which the firm had invested into in 2013.

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, is leading a consortium of investors in the acquisition of Techem GmbH (“Techem” or “the Company”), a global market leader in the provision of heat and water sub-metering services. Partners Group, which will invest on behalf of its private equity and infrastructure clients, will be joined in the acquisition by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers'”) as well as Techem’s management team. The consortium is acquiring Techem from Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2, which acquired 100% of the Company in 2008. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, values Techem at an enterprise value of EUR 4.6 billion.

Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Eschborn, Germany, Techem caters to a global client base of real estate operators and private home owners from its 150 branches in more than 20 countries. Its principal Energy Services business provides services and devices for the metering and billing of energy and water, plus device sales, hire and maintenance. In addition, its Energy Contracting business delivers heat, cooling, flow energy and light, as well as the planning, set-up, financing and operation of energy systems and energy monitoring and controlling services. Techem is the market leader in Germany, the largest sub-metering market in the world, as well as in an additional 13 European markets. Techem solutions today account for 6.9 million tons of CO2 emission savings per year, thus contributing to global climate protection objectives. In the 2016/17 financial year, Techem’s 3,640 employees serviced 11 million apartments worldwide, recording sales of EUR 782.7 million.

Following the close of the acquisition, Partners Group together with CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’ will work with Techem’s management team, led by Frank Hyldmar, to support the development of the Company in existing markets and expand its presence geographically. One value creation initiative will focus on the introduction of new technologies to Techem’s strong existing platform and installed base to enhance the customer experience. There will also be a continued focus on customer services and quality excellence programs as the Company grows.

Frank Hyldmar, CEO of Techem, comments: “A decade after delisting from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Techem can show a solid track record of growth. However, even with our market-leading position today, we believe there is plenty of future growth potential for our Company and look forward to working with Partners Group, an experienced private equity and infrastructure investor, as well as its strategic partners CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’, to realize our ambitions and deliver an exceptional service to our customers around the world.”

Jürgen Diegruber, Partner, Private Equity Europe, Partners Group, adds: “Techem is a market leader in a growing industry with strong tailwinds. With increasing global awareness of energy usage, Techem’s products and services are a key element of the fight against energy waste, enabling heating and energy supplies to be managed in a more precise and sustainable manner. We look forward to working with Frank Hyldmar and his talented team, as well as with our partners CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’, to expand Techem’s market-leading position.”

Stéphane Etroy, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity, CDPQ, says: “Energy efficiency, which is at the center of Techem’s offering, is key to building a sustainable future. Given CDPQ’s desire to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, investing in Techem is a very attractive opportunity for us. Techem’s business model positions it to benefit from growing urbanization and demand for housing energy efficiency, over the long term. We are confident that together with Techem’s solid management team, Partners Group, and Ontario Teachers’, the company will continue on its path of success.”

Jo Taylor, Senior Managing Director International, Ontario Teachers’, comments: “Techem is a well-positioned business that looks set for continued domestic and international growth. It serves the growing, global need for energy conservation and empowers users in multi-occupancy properties to have greater control over their own energy consumption by providing accurate billing. Ontario Teachers’ has a strong track record in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as significant experience in the sub-metering space and we are delighted to partner with Techem’s innovative management team and with Partners Group and CDPQ.”