Tiger Infrastructure Partners has sold its stake in Zenobē to KKR and Infracapital, an existing investor in the UK-based battery storage firm.
As part of the deal, global investment firm KKR and Infracapital are investing £600m and £270m (€693m and €312m) respectively and will support Zenobē to expand its fleet electrification and grid-scale battery storage business.
Separately, Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT) said it is co-investing alongside Infracapital in Zenobē by committing to invest around £35m through a co-investment vehicle managed by Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G.
Zenobē offers an end-to-end, one-stop service to develop, finance, install and operate electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at bus depots, as well as the provision of EV bus batteries and chassis.
London-headquartered Zenobē was founded in 2017. Tiger Infrastructure became its first institutional investor, building on initial capital from private sources and providing hands-on expertise which helped grow Zenobē operations in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Benelux.
In 2020, Infracapital made a £150m investment in Zenobē to help the battery storage company expand its grid-scale battery services and EV and charging infrastructure services.
Andy Matthews, head of greenfield at Infracapital, said: “This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for the business and fulfils our confidence in its ability to continue to play a leading role in sustainable solutions.”
Alberto Signori, partner in charge of European infrastructure at KKR, said: “We believe Zenobē will continue to benefit from strong secular tailwinds including stricter emission regulation in urban and regional areas, and the greater use of low carbon generation in the energy mix driving a need for grid balancing solutions. We see significant growth opportunities within Zenobē’s existing customer base, as well as huge potential in new markets globally.”
Richard Sem, partner at Pantheon, PINT’s investment manager, said the latest transaction in a “highly attractive sub-sector” increased the diversification of PINT’s portfolio.
Sem added: “Renewables and energy-efficiency assets continue to benefit from strong tailwinds, especially given the need to transition to net zero.”
Tiger Infrastructure CEO Emil W Henry Jr, said: “This major investment in the next stage of Zenobē’s growth, by one of the leading names in infrastructure private equity, culminates a journey of first-mover leadership by the company’s founders and Tiger.”
Nicholas Beatty, Zenobē’s co-founder and director, said the company will benefit from an extensive new round of investments from KKR and Infracapital to “capitalise on the ever-increasing demand for our services”.
Beatty said the company expects to expand beyond the UK, Australia, and New Zealand into Continental Europe and the US.
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