In a deal estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners announced on Tuesday that they would buy Australia’s Energy Exemplar, a supplier of energy market software, from private equity company Riverside Company.
The businesses withheld all financial information.
The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that Riverside Company, the current owner of Energy Exemplar, will cash out, and the two buyout groups will each possess a 50% stake.
As power utilities, grid operators, and developers of renewable energy turn to simulation software to fine-tune the utilization of production capacity and maximize savings, the deal reflects a bet on the energy shift.
Under Riverside’s ownership, Energy Exemplar has expanded at a 30% annual compound pace since 2018, according to the sources. More than 500 businesses in 79 countries utilize the software tools that the North Adelaide-based company offers to simulate and anticipate the markets for gas, electricity, water, and renewable energy.
Currently establishing a new fund, Blackstone’s energy transition division is investing in Energy Exemplar. As of the end of August, the fund, known as Blackstone Energy Transition Partners IV, had raised $2.2 billion of its $5.6 billion goal, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Senior managing director of Blackstone Energy Transition Partners Bilal Khan expressed excitement about the company’s partnership with Vista and Energy Exemplar, saying that it will “drive the next stage of development for Energy Exemplar and its technology solutions supporting grid reliability and decarbonization.”
“This investment is the latest in a series demonstrating Blackstone’s conviction in the energy transition.”
Since announcing last year that it saw a chance to invest $100 billion in energy transition and climate change solutions projects over the next ten years, the New York-based buyout firm has been actively entering this market.
Transmission Developers, solar mounting company Esdec, environmental engineering company Geosyntec, environmental commodities exchange Xpansiv, and renewable energy company Invenergy are among its prior ventures.
In August, Blackstone said that it had amassed $7.1 billion, the largest loan fund in the world devoted to energy transition.
Vista, a software industry specialist, is a party to the transaction through its middle-market foundation approach. In 2020, the company raised $4.5 billion for its fourth foundation fund, and in the upcoming months, a new one is anticipated.
In addition to Blackstone and Energy Exemplar, Ryan Atlas, managing director of Vista Equity Partners, stated that the company is excited about “leveraging our experience in scaling transformative enterprise software companies to further accelerate innovation and customer value.”
