Dive Brief:
- Energy Capital Partners closed on $6.7 billion in fundraising for its fifth flagship equity strategy fund last week with capital commitments of $4.4 billion. The fund exceeded its initial target of $4 billion by 10% and secured an additional $2.3 billion in investment capital.
- The energy investor said its Fund V will continue to build on its strategy of investing in businesses focused on the energy transition, including those in power generation, electrification and decarbonization infrastructure, renewables and storage solutions.
- Fund V drew capital investment commitments from a wide range of current and new global investors, which include public and private pensions, asset managers and insurance companies, the firm said.
Dive Insight:
The Summit, New Jersey-based firm also announced the same day it was acquiring Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure — which owns, manages and invests in renewables, storage assets, energy transmission and transportation — through its subsidiary Bears Bidco. The purchase allows ECP to extend its footprint across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa — all regions where Atlantica has made investments.
The transaction is pending regulatory approval in different jurisdictions. Among the groups who will need to sign off are the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
ECP said the acquisition, upon closing, would represent Fund V’s eighth investment in two years, amounting to approximately $2.2 billion in capital commitments.
The private equity firm also purchased U.K.-based waste management business Biffa in 2023 and established Harvestone Low Carbon Partners with the Harvestone Group in 2022 to pursue decarbonization initiatives across the U.S., such as renewable fuels and carbon capture projects.
“ECP’s focused efforts to build, execute, and ultimately drive value from a robust pipeline of investments tied to electrification, decarbonization, reliability and sustainability remain at the center of ECP’s success,” the firm’s head of investor services and managing director, Emily Zovko, said in a release.