Investment firm Ardian is acquiring a majority stake in global energy projects and services company GreenYellow alongside the firm’s existing shareholders Groupe Casino, Bpifrance and Tikehau Capital.
Ardian said it has entered into an agreement with Groupe Casino, Bpifrance and Tikehau to buy the undisclosed majority stake in the €1.4bn energy company.
GreenYellow, founded by Groupe Casino in 2007, is an expert in decentralised solar photovoltaic production, energy efficiency projects and energy services.
In 2018, Tikehau and Bpifrance invested €150m in GreenYellow to support its development. GreenYellow currently operates in 16 countries on four continents.
As part of the deal, which is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of the year, Groupe Casino will retain a minority stake in GreenYellow with Bpifrance and Tikehau reinvesting part of their proceeds in the company.
Mathias Burghardt, a member of the Ardian executive committee and head of the firm’s infrastructure arm, said: “The quality of GreenYellow’s managers and teams, and the company’s positioning at the heart of the energy transition issues have convinced us.
“We are certain that the decentralised energy production and energy efficiency solutions proposed by GreenYellow will play a key role in achieving the decarbonisation and energy sobriety objectives of companies and communities.”
Emmanuel Laillier, the head of private equity for Tikehau Capital, said: “GreenYellow was one of our first investments of our private equity strategy dedicated to the energy transition launched in 2018, and which has invested €900m in 10 leading European SMEs and ETIs in the sector since then.
”Thanks to the investments made, in 4 years GreenYellow has strengthened its leadership position in its core markets. With its robust platform, we are confident that GreenYellow will continue its growth path.”
Charles-Henri Boyer, the head of participations at Bpifrance, said: “Bpifrance, is thrilled to continue to support the company in this new phase of development with Ardian.
Since our investment in 2018, the company has grown strongly and has succeeded in consolidating its position as the French leader in the decentralised energy production and energy efficiency market, thanks to its cross-functional expertise and its capacity for innovation.”
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