Virya Energy, a company active in the development, financing, construction, and operation of renewable energy production sources, acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based renewable electricity generation and storage development platform Constant Energy through a combination of primary investments and secondary shares from Olympus Capital Asia, a middle-market investment firm focused on Asia.
This deal is expected to significantly boost Virya’s solar and Asian plans. It is expected to complement its European wind energy activities, namely in France, Belgium, Poland, and Portugal via its Eurowatt and Eoly entities.
By incorporating Constant Energy’s expertise in solar development, Virya aims to diversify its clean energy portfolio and increase its involvement in the energy value chain, which covers wind power, hydrogen development, energy distribution, and various energy (infrastructure) services.
Paul Tummers, Virya Energy CEO, commented: “Their addition to our ecosystem is a perfect fit with Virya’s strategy and follows the closing of the sale of Parkwind earlier this week. This participation not only bolsters our renewable energy production capacity with a significant solar portfolio and expertise but also aligns perfectly with our “fit for purpose energy” value proposition in which we help our end-users transition towards renewable energy through the provision of energy adapted to their needs. Solar power fits perfectly in our energy value chain.”.
Olympus Capital Asia will remain a significant minority shareholder in Constant Energy after the transaction.
Finegreen acted as the financial advisor, and Linklaters as legal advisor to Virya Energy for this deal. Olympus Capital Asia and Constant Energy were advised by Standard Chartered Bank and Hunton Andrews Kurth.
According to Mercom’s 1H and Q2 2023 Solar Funding and M&A Report, There were 48 solar M&A transactions in 1H 2023 compared to 53 transactions in 1H 2022. The largest deal was by Brookfield Renewable, which agreed to acquire Duke Energy’s unregulated utility-scale commercial renewables business in the U.S. for approximately $2.8 billion.
