LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sandbrook Capital (“Sandbrook”), a private investment firm dedicated to building businesses crucial to transforming the world’s energy infrastructure, alongside co-investors Public Sector Pension Investment Board (“PSP Investments”) and the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”), today announce they have signed an agreement to acquire NeXtWind Capital Ltd (“NeXtWind”), a German renewable energy company specializing in acquiring and repowering onshore wind farms, from a syndicate led by Crestline Investors (“Crestline”), an investment management firm head-quartered in Fort Worth, Texas. As part of the transaction, Sandbrook, PSP Investments and IMCO will commit up to US$750 million of equity capital to NeXtWind to acquire its existing portfolio of operating wind assets and to fund future growth.
NeXtWind’s management team, led by its founders Ewald Woste, Werner Süss and Lars Meyer, have decades of experience in the German power market, having worked as executives and board members at companies such as E.ON, Vattenfall and STEAG. Following the transaction and with a significantly strengthened balance sheet, NeXtWind will be well positioned to execute on its strategy of acquiring and repowering German wind assets and becoming a leading renewable energy company in Germany and beyond. Germany is the largest onshore wind market in Europe with ~58GW of installed capacity at the end of 2022. Approximately 30% of this capacity (~13,000 turbines) has been in service for more than 15 years, presenting a large addressable market of older turbines that will need to be repowered.1
Commenting on the transaction, Ken Ryan, Sandbrook co-founder and partner said “We are thrilled to partner with the NeXtWind management team as well as PSP Investments and IMCO to grow this platform in Germany. We have been looking to enter this space for several years and are confident we have the right team and capital base to become a leading player in the German renewables market.”
Patrick Samson, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Real Assets Investments at PSP Investments added “Onshore wind repowering represents an important lever in enabling Germany’s energy transition. We are proud to join forces with NeXtWind’s highly experienced team to deliver on their repowering strategy and to reinforce our commitment to using capital and influence to support the transition to global net-zero emissions by 2050.”
"We are delighted to partner with NeXtWind and co-investors to support NeXtWind’s mission to rejuvenate Germany’s renewable energy asset base. This is IMCO’s first investment in the German wind energy sector, and demonstrates our commitment to boost renewable energy production and enable the global energy transition, in alignment with IMCO's Climate Action Plan,” said Matthew Mendes, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure at IMCO.
Ewald Woste, Co-Founder of NeXtWind, Managing Partner of NeXtWind Management GmbH and Member of the Board of NeXtWind Capital Ltd. said “We have been focused on the repowering opportunity in Germany for over 6 years now. With this newly announced acquisition and partnership, we have the capital to match our business development and operational expertise and grow the amount of renewable energy produced from older wind sites, helping the energy transition and also increasing Germany’s energy security.”
Michael Guy, Chief Investment Officer of Crestline Europe said “As the lead investor in the first funding round raised by NeXtWind, we identified a best-in-class team and an important market opportunity with the complexity, scale and attractive risk return characteristics that we look for in our investment set. We are confident that NeXtWind will continue to flourish with the support of its new investors.”
About Sandbrook
Sandbrook Capital is a private investment firm dedicated exclusively to partnering with world class management teams to build great companies that are crucial to transforming the world’s energy infrastructure. The firm was founded by five partners with decades-long experience in the renewable energy sector. It has offices in Stamford, CT and London, UK. Follow us on LinkedIn or visit us at Sandbrook.com.
About PSP Investments
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada’s largest pension investors with $243.7 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2023. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in capital markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, and credit investments. Established in 1999, PSP Investments manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. For more information, visit investpsp.com or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About IMCO
The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) manages $73.3 billion of assets on behalf of our clients. Designed exclusively to drive better investment outcomes for Ontario's broader public sector, IMCO operates under an independent, not-for-profit, cost recovery structure. We provide leading investment management services, including portfolio construction advice, better access to a diverse range of asset classes and sophisticated risk management capabilities. As one of Canada's largest institutional investors, we invest around the world and execute large transactions efficiently. Our scale gives clients access to a well-diversified global portfolio, including sought-after private and alternative asset classes. For more information, visit imcoinvest.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @imcoinvest.
About Crestline
Crestline Investors, Inc., founded in 1997 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a global institutional investment management firm with US$16.6 billion of assets under management. Crestline Europe LLP is based in London and specializes in direct private capital investments in resilient industry sectors which are either asset backed or demonstrate defensive cash flow profile in developed markets of Europe. For more information, please visit www.crestlineinvestors.com.
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1 Deutsche Windguard (2022) |