HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnCap Energy Transition today announced that French multinational utility company ENGIE has agreed to acquire the battery storage business of Houston-based Broad Reach Power from EnCap Energy Transition Fund I, its co-investment partners Yorktown Partners, Mercuria Energy and Apollo Infrastructure Funds (the “Apollo Funds”) for a total equity value in excess of $1 billion. Since Broad Reach was founded in 2019 with backing from EnCap Energy Transition, it has become a leading U.S. developer and operator of renewable energy and energy storage power projects in Texas, California and other markets. Apollo Funds acquired a 50% stake in the company and joined the Board in December 2021.
The sale to ENGIE includes 350 MW of grid-scale battery assets in operation and 880 MW under construction mainly in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) territory, with commissioning expected before the end of 2024. The acquisition also includes a 1.7 GW pipeline of battery storage projects at an advanced stage of development and a significant pipeline of early-stage projects. The first CAISO storage asset is expected to be operational in 2023.
The transaction does not include the company’s portfolio of 1.8GW of solar and wind power projects together with 4GWh of battery storage in the Mountain West region of the U.S.
“EnCap Energy Transition is pleased to have founded, with the talented, hard-working management team at Broad Reach Power, the top battery storage player in the U.S. market,” said EnCap Energy Transition Managing Partner Shawn Cumberland, who is also Chairman of the Broad Reach Board of Directors. “It has been a pleasure to have partnered with Apollo Funds in this important and valuable venture.”
Apollo Infrastructure Partner Corinne Still said, “At Apollo, we’re committed to being leading investors in the energy transition, and we’re proud to have been a significant, value-add owner of Broad Reach Power during years of incredible growth for the business. Together with EnCap and the Broad Reach Power management team, we’ve built what we believe is the leading and most innovative battery storage IPP in North America. We wish the Broad Reach team all the best in their next phase of growth with Engie.”
Broad Reach Founder and Chief Operating Officer Doug Moorehead said, “It has been a terrific honor and pleasure to be part of the rapid growth of the U.S. energy storage sector from the very beginning and see our company grow into one of the top developers. We are extremely appreciative of the work and expertise of our entire staff and the support and backing of the highly talented team at EnCap Energy Transition throughout the process. We look forward to teaming with ENGIE to carry on the work.”
Stacey Peterson, Broad Reach Power’s CEO, who joined the firm last year added, “Our firm’s success is a direct result of the tireless dedication of our team, who go above and beyond every day. I want to thank the BRP team for their amazing work, and also thank EnCap, Apollo Funds, Yorktown and Mercuria for their unwavering support of our business over the past four years. This a great transaction and we are excited for its continued growth.”
EnCap Energy Transition has been an aggressive provider of capital in the fast-growing U.S. energy storage business since 2019. With this announcement and including the sale of Jupiter Power to Blackrock in December 2022, the EnCap team has now been responsible for shepherding the creation, development, growth, and monetization of two of the largest standalone energy storage companies in the U.S.
About EnCap Investments L.P.
Since 1988, EnCap Investments has been a leading provider of growth capital to the independent sector of the U.S. energy industry. The firm has raised 25 institutional investment funds totaling approximately $41 billion and currently manages capital on behalf of more than 350 U.S. and international investors. Founded in 2019, the EnCap Energy Transition platform is led by four Managing Partners, each with 30-35 years of experience in the development and operations of renewables and power generation. For more information, please visit www.encapinvestments.com.
About Broad Reach Power
Broad Reach Power is the leading U.S. utility-scale battery storage platform. The Company develops, owns and operates energy storage projects and hybrid storage-plus-renewables projects across diversified markets, providing utilities, generators and other power market participants solutions to better manage risk and match supply and demand. For more information about the Company, visit www.broadreachpower.com.
About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of June 30, 2023, Apollo had approximately $617 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.
