Blackstone is acquiring a co-ownership stake in Eurowind Energy by investing up to €2bn to help the renewable energy developer expand its platform across Europe.
Under the terms of the deal, Blackstone will initially acquire a 24.7% stake in Eurowind. The original founders, including CEO Jens Rasmussen, Søren Rasmussen and Jakob Kortbæk, will continue as majority owners alongside the energy and telecommunications group Norlys.
Denmark-based Eurowind owns a 1.6GW portfolio of onshore wind, solar, battery storage and biogas solutions across 16 countries. The firm expects to construct energy parks with a total capacity of 1.5GW per year through to 2030 and to expand existing parks with battery installations.
Gert Vinther Jørgensen, chairman of the board of Eurowind Energy and group CEO of Norlys, said: “Under the current ownership group, Eurowind Energy has undergone significant development, expanding renewable energy capacity across Europe.
“Recent developments have clearly demonstrated how critical it is for Europe to become self-sufficient in stable and competitive energy. With Blackstone as a long-term investor, Eurowind gains the financial strength required to contribute to this development and take the company into its next phase.”
Rasmussen said: “It is essential for us that Blackstone brings a long-term investment perspective and supports Eurowind Energy’s strategy to become a leading independent power producer in Europe.
“Blackstone has international experience within energy and infrastructure, and the investment enables us to increase the pace of expansion and deploy three to four times as much solar and wind energy, as well as battery capacity, as we would otherwise have been able to.”
Adam Kuhnley, co-head of European investments at Blackstone infrastructure, said: “There will be a need for significant capital to meet Europe’s energy demand in the coming years, and Blackstone is focused on supporting and accelerating the expansion of Europe’s energy infrastructure.
“Over the past two decades, Jens Rasmussen and the management team have built a strong business across the full value chain of renewable energy projects, and we look forward to working with them and Norlys to accelerate Eurowind’s long-term capacity.”
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