The DWS Pan-European Infrastructure Fund III fund and Blue Pearl Energy have teamed up to invest up to €600m to buy small and medium-sized energy services firms in Europe.

The newly launched platform will create a network of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) specialising in various fields of energy services for private and public sector clients and will provide an alternative to large energy companies.

The venture, which has already bought three companies, has a plan to invest €600m to buy around SMEs over a five-year period.

Eric de Seguins Pazzis, co-founder and CEO of Blue Pearl Energy, said: “There is a strong market opportunity for an initiative like ours: firstly because the European market for energy services is showing strong growth, boosted by the urgent drive towards energy transition. This drive is now at the heart of Europe’s post-Covid stimulus plans.

“Secondly, because the sector is currently split between large multinationals on the one hand and on the other hand independent SMEs who struggle to offer comprehensive solutions, preventing them from accessing certain customer segments and large-scale contracts.

“This creates a space for a medium-sized operator offering a hybrid model, capable of meeting the needs of clients who have so far been insufficiently met by the existing ecosystem.”

Founded early this year, Blue Pearl Energy plans to develop a European platform for business to business energy services.

The DWS Pan-European Infrastructure Fund III fund is currently seeking to raise €2.5bn.

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