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The Wire

Private equity deal news and insights from the London newsroom

Jan 16, 2025

 

Partners Group in energy storage deal; AI enhancements 'showing up in growth rates and margins,' says Hg's Kindt

Good morning, Nina Lindholm here with the Europe Wire from the London newsroom.

 

Rapid growth in electrification, the transition to renewable energy and a greater desire for connectivity have made enhancing grid resiliency, capacity, and durability “critical,” said Matt White, managing director at Harris Williams, in the firm’s new 2025 outlook report. We start with a deal in that very sector, as Partners Group has agreed to invest in a German large-scale battery energy storage systems operator.

 

We then return to our big AI theme of the week, as we hear Hg partner and head of value creation Chris Kindt’s thoughts on the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, announced earlier this week.

 

To finish, we have a fintech deal. Investcorp has agreed to acquire an alternative payments business from Bregal Milestone.

 

Energy enabler

Partners Group has agreed to invest in Green Flexibility, a large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) developer and operator in Germany.

 

For more on the deal, take a look at the full Wire coverage here.

 

Theory to practice

The UK government’s AI infrastructure push is a “welcome step,” Chris Kindt, partner and head of value creation at Hg, told PE Hub. 

 

The comments were in response to UK government plans to “turbocharge” AI development and adoption in the UK, a subject PE Hub’s Craig McGlashan delved into in Tuesday’s Europe Wire.

 

Upgrade to the premium Wire to read Kindt's commentary.

 

Alternative option

Let’s move to fintech to finish. Investcorp has agreed to acquire Epipoli, an alternative payments business, from investment firm Bregal Milestone and Epipoli founder and CEO Gaetano Giannetto.

 

For more on the deal, check out the full Wire coverage here.

 

That’s all from me. Michael Schoeck will be with you later today with the US edition of the Wire and Sophie Rose will be on Europe Wire duty tomorrow.

 

Cheers,

Nina

 

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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Also of note (may require subscriptions)

 

Ardian quadruples APAC LPs in record $30bn secondaries raise: ASF IX raised capital from around 40 APAC LPs, compared with less than 10 in its predecessor fund, Greater China head Jason Yao tells Secondaries Investor.

 

Fundraising’s most important metric: TOTR. Funds closed in 2024 spent more than 31 months on the road, a big increase on the less than 18 it took on average to raise a fund from 2019-23. (Infrastructure Investor)

 

New Forests holds A$600m final close on ANZ Landscapes and Forestry Fund: The vehicle has hit its fundraising target and received commitments from LPs including Clean Energy Finance Corporation, AP2 and Kyushu Electric Power. (New Private Markets)

 

S&P: Defaults of sponsor-backed companies grew in 2024. Sponsor-backed companies' share of overall defaults surged to the highest ever, while Fitch found LMEs and distress depressed recovery numbers. (Private Debt Investor)

 

San Bernardino County pension boosts PE allocation: The California pension system plans to allocate $650m to private equity this year, up from a target of $575m last year. (Venture Capital Journal)

Deals

> Ambienta-backed Namirial buys Digital Technologies More...
> Investcorp buys Italian alternative payments enabler Epipoli More...
> Partners Group invests €400 in Green Flexibility More...
> Phoenix Partners pumps capital into LaunchLife International More...
> Helia Capital acquires majority interest in GoLaser More...
> Court Square-backed GoEngineer snaps up CAD MicroSolutions More...
People
> Southfield Capital promotes Chris Grambling to partner More...
> KKR appoints Jeremy Darroch as executive advisor More...
> Armen names Hugh Langmuir as chair of Armen Partners UK More...

They said it

“Speed is critical here and the reality is that while Europe looks for ways to push AI, Silicon Valley is banking early returns.”

— Chris Kindt, partner and head of value creation, Hg on AI investments

 

Today's letter was prepared by Nina Lindholm

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