Grenergy, the renewable energy producer and a developer of solar, wind, and storage projects, has acquired a 40% stake in Alabama-based solar and battery project developer Sofos Harbert Renewable Energy.
According to the company, the acquisition helps it enter the U.S. renewable energy market.
Grenergy will have the option of acquiring the entire shareholding of Sofos Harbert after three years from closing this transaction.
Sofos Harbert Renewable Energy has a solar pipeline of 1.9 GW and 600 MWh in energy storage projects under development in three different electricity markets (Southeast, PJM, MISO).
The U.S. forecasts an increase in solar PV deployment from the current 61 GW to an estimated 1,000 GW by 2035.
This agreement also represents Grenergy’s first acquisition as part of its growth strategy, which has led the company to establish a presence in three distinct regions, Europe, Latin America, and now, the U.S.
“This strategic acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth in the United States, a market that will install more solar capacity in the coming years than Europe and Latin America combined. And we will do so in a structured manner, through our investment in a company like Sofos Harbert, which has an extensive project portfolio and a highly qualified local team,” said David Ruiz de Andres, CEO of Grenergy.
Grenergy has been advised in this transaction by PWC (financial), Clifford Chance (legal), and Enertis (technical), while Sofos Harbert has been advised by RS Corporate Finance (financial) and Dentons (legal).
According to Mercom’s Q4 2021 solar funding and M&A report, M&A activity in the solar sector soared with 126 transactions in 2021 – the highest number of deals ever recorded. Most of the transactions involved Solar Downstream companies.
