European developer-investor Kajima Europe has joined forces with CEE private equity firm Griffin Capital Partners to take a 70% stake in Hymon, Poland's largest photovoltaic installation company.
This is the second joint initiative by these partners in Poland's renewable energy market, having taken a majority stake in Pad Res, a developer in Poland's clean energy asset space, in 2021.
Hymon is a leader in Poland’s photovoltaic market, with a track record of 472 MW installed photovoltaic capacity.
Kajima and Griffin plan to continue to increase the company’s market position with further development of the product portfolio and plans to enter new markets. Kajima will be a majority investor in the JV, and Griffin Capital Partners will act as co-owner and investment manager of the platform. Jacek Strzesak, the founder of Hymon, will remain a 30% shareholder and supervisory board member.
Chris Gill, Investments director & head of Renewables at Kajima, said: ‘Kajima’s mission is to pursue sustainable investment and development opportunities across Europe. We recognise huge potential in the Polish RES market, and through this second renewables sector-based partnership with Griffin, we will strengthen our presence in this dynamic emerging sector.’
Tomasz Mrowczyk, co-managing partner at Griffin Capital Partners, added: ‘We are steadily increasing our participation in the energy transition. We see the opportunity to efficiently deploy the capital in both asset-heavy segments as well as through private buyout plays. We are excited by the number and attractiveness of the opportunities we see and hope to announce further steps in the near future.’
Hymon specialises in the delivery of turnkey photovoltaic rooftop solutions as well as heat pumps to private households and to industrial and corporate clients. It has been on the Polish market since 2011 and has realised over 70,000 installations. The company currently employes 300 workers and co-operates with 800 contract-based sales representatives and 100 contract-based installers, allowing the execution of more than 1,300 photovoltaic installations monthly.
In September 2021, Kajima Europe and Griffin Capital Partners announced a joint venture to finance and develop renewable energy projects in Poland. As part of the deal, the JV has acquired a 72% stake in Pad Res, which since then started work on 13 projects with a total capacity of 500 MW.
