Blackstone Announces $400 Million Investment in Xpansiv, the Leading Global Carbon and Environmental Commodities Exchange Platform

Blackstone

NEW YORK, NY & SAN FRANCISCO, CA – July 6, 2022 – Blackstone announced today that funds managed by Blackstone Energy Partners (“Blackstone”) have committed $400 million to lead a strategic investment in Xpansiv Limited (“Xpansiv”), the premier market-infrastructure platform for global carbon and environmental commodities.

Xpansiv connects buyers and sellers of environmental commodities and provides market data for voluntary carbon offsets, renewable energy credits (RECs), and low-carbon fuels, each of which are critical elements of global decarbonization. Xpansiv’s growing ecosystem supports companies seeking to meet environmental and emissions reduction goals.

Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “We believe environmental commodities are a critical new asset class that must scale exponentially to meet climate change mitigation targets pledged by governments, companies, and entire industries. Xpansiv is a leader in this space, and we are delighted to provide the capital and resources to help them further expand their offerings and accelerate their growth.”

David Foley, Global Head of Blackstone Energy Partners, said: “As a leading private equity investor in the dynamic energy transition market, we proactively seek out companies with entrepreneurial management teams that are well positioned to benefit from fundamental long-term trends. As more corporations make net-zero commitments, there is an increasing need to efficiently connect them with—and indirectly provide funding for—the most efficient, high-quality developers of CO2 reduction projects. Xpansiv has a first-mover advantage, and Blackstone’s investment will enable them to capitalize upon that lead, creating a uniquely positioned company with ownership of critical software, technology, and a scalable exchange for trading voluntary carbon offsets and related environmental products. We believe this market will experience exponential growth over the next decade.”

“Blackstone’s support of the Xpansiv vision for commodity markets that value ESG is a major milestone and the beginning of a new chapter for the company,” said Xpansiv CEO Joe Madden. “This partnership will help us solidify our leading position in carbon and leverage our platform to scale markets and products to accelerate the energy transition across renewable energy, digital fuels, and beyond. We’re absolutely thrilled with the partnership.”

“We’re excited about this long-term commitment from Blackstone—proof of their ongoing investment in climate solutions,” said Xpansiv Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Rockliff. “This partnership will support our strategic path to accelerate our growth in global commodity markets following the acquisitions of SRECTrade, HVB, and OTX in 2021, and our investment in APX, the leading provider of registry infrastructure for energy and environmental markets.”

Blackstone’s capital will enable Xpansiv to continue driving growth across both organic initiatives and future acquisitions. The transaction continues Blackstone’s recent thematic investments in the energy-transition and climate-solutions spaces, which include Legence and Sphera.

Perella Weinberg Partners LP served as financial advisor, and Morrison & Foerster LLP and Clifford Chance LLP served as legal counsel to Xpansiv. Kirkland & Ellis and Clayton Utz served as legal counsel to Blackstone.

About Blackstone Energy Partners
Blackstone Energy Partners, Blackstone’s energy-focused private equity business, is a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record, having invested over $20 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering reliable and affordable energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs, and generate lasting value for our investors, employees, and all stakeholders.

About Xpansiv
Xpansiv is the global marketplace for ESG-inclusive commodities. Our infrastructure empowers participants to value energy, carbon, and water to meet the challenges of a resource-constrained world. The company’s main business units include CBL, the largest spot exchange for ESG commodities, including carbon, renewable energy certificates, and Digital Natural Gas™; H2OX, the leading spot exchange for water in Australia; XSignals, which provides end-of-day and historical market data; and EMA, the leading multi-registry portfolio management system for all ESG-inclusive commodities. Xpansiv is the digital nexus where ESG and price signals merge. Xpansiv.com

CONTACTS

Blackstone
Kate Holderness
kate.holderness@blackstone.com
646-482-8774

Xpansiv
Rob Dalton
rdalton@xpansiv.com
206-853-8823

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AEGIS Hedging Expands into Metals with Acquisition of Nexidus Commodities

Trilantic

Transaction marks first strategic acquisition fueled by growth financing from Trilantic North America

AEGIS Hedging Solutions (“AEGIS” or the “Company”), a leader in technology and expertise for commodity and rate hedging, announced today that it has acquired Nexidus Commodities (“Nexidus”), a commodity trading advisor and pioneer in metals hedging.

Founded in 2017, Nexidus provides research, strategy, execution, and administrative support to companies in the industrials and manufacturing sectors hedging their exposures to base and precious metals. Nexidus has capitalized on significant, growing demand from financial sponsors seeking visibility into and management of metals exposures across their portfolio companies, as commodity pricing and rate exposures have a significant impact on cash flow and related valuations.

“The acquisition of Nexidus is a significant step in extending our hedging technology and expertise beyond the energy sector,” said Bryan Sansbury, Chairman and CEO of AEGIS.
“With increasing global volatility, we are committed to serving companies across industries as they manage their commodity and rate risks.”
“We are excited to bring AEGIS’ scalable technology and approach to hedging metal price risk for new and existing clients,” said Adam Jackson, CEO of Nexidus. “AEGIS has shown a commitment to continually investing in its platform and client experience. We look forward to extending our reach with any company exposed to metals, energy, and rates-pricing.”

Trilantic North America Investment

AEGIS’ acquisition of Nexidus was made in partnership with Trilantic North America, a leading private equity firm, which recently invested in the Company to support the execution of its growth strategy and accelerate its expansion across the metals, refined products, interest rates, and FOREX sectors. The Company’s co-founders, Bryan Sansbury, Chris Croom, and Justin McCrann, who serve as CEO, President, and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, continue to lead the business and have retained significant equity stakes in the Company.

“We have known Bryan and the AEGIS team for several years and have watched them build the Company into the leading software-based hedge advisory services business within the North American energy market,” said Chris Manning, Managing Partner at Trilantic North America and Chairman of Trilantic Energy Partners North America. “The acquisition of Nexidus represents an exciting first step in the Company’s next phase of growth as we look to aggressively expand AEGIS’ presence in new end markets.”

“With the Company’s industry leading software platform and focus on value-added hedge advisory services, AEGIS is uniquely positioned to capitalize on an increasingly volatile market environment and expand into adjacent areas of risk management,” added Chris Murphy, Principal at Trilantic North America. “We’re thrilled to partner with the AEGIS team.”

“Trilantic North America has a strong record of partnering with founder-led businesses to build leading-edge companies within the North American energy, services, and consumer sectors,” said Chris Croom, President of AEGIS. “The team quickly understood our growth objectives and their investment will help us leverage our existing technology platform to accelerate AEGIS’ expansion.”

Baird Capital, which first invested in AEGIS in 2019, will retain a material ownership stake.

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