Private equity firm EQT has struck a deal to acquire US-based solar and storage developer Cypress Creek Renewables from investment firms HPS Investment Partners and Temasek.
Headquartered in California, Cypress Creek develops, finances, operates and owns utility-scale and distributed solar and storage facilities. With a presence in 25 US states, the company has 1.6GW of operating assets and has commercialised 11GW of projects since its inception in 2014.
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The partnership with Sweden-based EQT will support Cypress Creek in expanding its fleet of operating assets and scaling its operations and maintenance business.
The transaction, expected to close in the second half of 2021, will see the developer acquired by the EQT Infrastructure V fund.
“Cypress Creek plays a critical role in North America’s renewable energy development and infrastructure market. Its platform is optimally situated to benefit from tailwinds of increasing and durable demand for clean and responsible energy,” said Alex Darden, partner within EQT Infrastructure’s advisory team.
Barclays served as financial advisor to EQT Infrastructure in connection with the transaction and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett was legal counsel. Morgan Stanley & Co was financial advisor to Cypress Creek and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.
Cypress Creek added nearly 400MW of utility-scale and distributed solar to the grid last year, including plants in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas and the firm’s largest installation to date, the 162MW Wagyu solar project in Brazoria County, Texas.
In November, the company closed US$200 million debt financing for the holding company that owns its portfolio of operating solar energy projects.
For EQT, the deal comes weeks after it announced a takeover bid for Solarpack, signing an agreement to acquire 51% of the Spanish solar developer’s shares.