Partners Group – one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, acting on behalf of its clients – announced it has agreed to sell VSB Group, a leading renewable energy platform in Europe, to TotalEnergies. The transaction gives VSB an equity value of Є1.57 billion.
Launched in 1996, VSB operates throughout the renewable energy value chain, developing, building, owning, and managing renewable energy projects. The company also provides technical and commercial management services for third-party assets and e-mobility solutions like charging infrastructure.
VSB has also developed over 2.3 GW of renewable energy-generating assets to date and manages 3 GW of assets. As an independent power producer, VSB sells sustainably generated electricity from its wind and solar assets through renewable energy support schemes and power purchase agreements, which provide visible, long-term cashflows. Headquartered in Germany, VSB is also active in France, Poland, Italy, Croatia, and Finland, with over 500 employees across 21 branches.
Partners Group bought a majority stake in VSB in 2020 and has since transformed the Company from a mid-sized renewables developer into a leading pan-European renewables platform. Under Partners Group’s ownership, VSB has more than doubled its project pipeline from 8 GW to over 18 GW, significantly expanded its operating and under construction capacity from 53 MW to over 475 MW today, diversified across wind and solar PV, battery storage, and e-mobility technologies, and improved talent management. These initiatives drove a five-fold increase in EBITDA.
Partners Group originally identified VSB as an investment opportunity through its thematic research into the renewable energy sector in Europe. The thematic tailwinds that have driven VSB’s growth in recent years remain in place today, such as an increased emphasis on corporate decarbonization goals, regulatory support for clean energy sources, and a heightened focus on energy independence.
Partners Group’s Infrastructure business has $26 billion in assets under management globally. Partners Group was advised by Nomura Greentech as exclusive financial advisor and A&O Shearman as legal advisor.
KEY QUOTES:
“VSB is a highly thematic investment. Through our deep research capabilities, we identified VSB as uniquely positioned to benefit from decarbonization tailwinds in Europe, tracking the Company long before investing. We then transformed VSB from a developer into a full-service renewable energy platform and independent power producer. Having completed our value creation plan, we believe now is the right time to exit.”
– David Daum, Partner, Head Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group
“VSB has significantly increased its project development output and operating asset base under Partners Group’s ownership. As part of our value creation plan, we implemented operational excellence initiatives around VSB’s project development and back-office functions and invested in technology and the digitization of processes. VSB has very strong foundations from which to continue its growth journey.”
– Maximilian Christ, Member of Management, Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group
