Welcome to Taylor Wessing’s analysis of clean energy investment activity in Europe in the first quarter of 2015 (Q1.15). Total investment in Europe’s clean energy sector, defined as the sum of project finance, public markets, venture capital and private equity, totalled $13.9 billion in Q1.15. This represents a 24% decrease on the $18.3 billion invested in Q4.14 and a 30% decrease on the $19.9 billion invested in the corresponding quarter in 2014.
Project finance totalled $12.7 billion in Q1.15, a 27% annual decrease. This was a direct result of a 36% annual decline in onshore wind project finance to
$3.3 billion following cuts to subsidies in Germany. This is also 25% below the quarterly average volume of onshore wind investment during the past two years. Q1.15 was also notable for a number of large offshore wind deals. Notable deals included the $1.3 billion 322 MW Nordsee 1 offshore wind farm that secured $889 million debt financing from a consortium of ten lenders and the 288 MW Baltic 2 offshore wind farm that secured $853 million debt financing from a lending club led by Macquarie Capital.
Clean energy companies raised $948 million on the European public markets in Q1.15 through a mixture of IPOs, secondaries and convertible note issuances, equating to a 43% decrease on the $1.7 billion secured during the corresponding period in 2014. The decrease was caused by a lack of fundraising activity by clean technology and renewable energy project developers. Public market deal activity in Europe in Q1.15 was propped up by yieldcos, which raised $872 million
- accounting for 92% of all funds raised.
Venture capital and private equity remained sluggish, totalling only $283 million in Q1.15, a 64% decrease on Q1.14. This is the third-lowest quarterly investment volume recorded during the past two years. The number of deals was also 31% lower than the quarterly average number during the past two years. The largest deal in Q1.15 was Iceland-based green data centre provider Verne Global’s $98 million fundraising led by Stefnir, the Wellcome Trust, Novator Partners and General Catalyst.
M&A activity was also weak in Q1.15. Some 112 acquisitions valued at $5 billion were announced in Q1.15, an 8% decrease in value on Q1.14. The most notable deals were Centerbridge Partners’ $1.2 billion acquisition of German wind turbine maker Senvion from Suzlon Energy and Groupama’s $543 million disposal of French waste management company Veolia Environnement.
Venture Capital and Private Equity
European Venture Capital and Private Equity Investment: Q1.13 to Q1.15 ($ million)
900 50
800 45
700 40
35
600
n Private equity (Development capital)
n Venture capital - Late stage (Series D+)
n Venture capital -
Early growth (Series A to C)
— Number of deals
30
500
25
400
20
300
15
200 10
100 5
0
Q1.13
Q2.13
Q3.13
Q4.13
Q1.14
Q2.14
Q3.14
Q4.14
0
Q1.15
Average Quarterly VC/PE Investment Q1.13 to Q1.15 |
($ million) |
Venture Capital (early-stage) |
182.6 |
Venture Capital (late-stage) |
75.2 |
Private Equity (development capital) |
133.6 |
Average Deal Size Q1.13 to Q1.15 |
($ million) |
Venture Capital (early-stage) |
5.8 |
Venture Capital (late-stage) |
35.8 |
Private Equity (development capital) |
45.8 |
Venture Capital and Private Equity
Q1.15 Top 5 Venture Capital and Private Equity Deals
Company |
Sector |
Country |
Deal value ($ million) |
Investor(s) |
Verne Global |
Energy Efficiency |
Iceland |
98 |
General Catalyst Partners, Wellcome Trust, Stefnir, Novator Partners |
Green Biologics Ltd. |
Biofuels |
UK |
76 |
Capricorn Venture Partners NV, Morningside Technology Ventures Ltd., Sofinnova Partners, Oxford Capital Partners Ltd., Swire Pacific Ltd., Convergince Holdings LLC, Central MN Ethanol Co- op, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Convergence Holdings LLC |
Conergy AG |
Solar |
Germany |
45 |
RWE AG, Kawa Capital Management |
Oxford Photovoltaics |
Solar |
UK |
12 |
MTI Partners Ltd., University of Oxford, Parkwalk Advisors Ltd., Longwall Venture Partners LLP |
APATEQ - PWT S.A. |
Water & Waste Water Treatment |
Luxembourg |
7 |
Reinet Investments S.C.A., Eurobéton SA |
Venture Capital and Private Equity
European Private Equity Buyouts: Q1.13 to Q1.15 ($ billion)
7.0
6.5
6.0
70
n Deals of over $100 million
65 n Deals of under $100 million
— Number of deals
60
5.5 55
5.0 50
4.5 45
4.0 40
3.5 35
3.0 30
2.5 25
2.0 20
1.5 15
1.0 10
0.5 5
0
Q1.13
Q2.13
Q3.13
Q4.13
Q1.14
Q2.14
Q3.14
Q4.14
0
Q1.15
Average Private Equity Buyout Investment: Q1.13 to Q1.15 |
|
Average Quarterly PE Buyout Volume ($ billion) |
2.7 |
Average Number of Deals per Quarter |
44 |
Average PE Buyout Transaction Value ($ million) |
62.2 |
Venture Capital and Private Equity
Q1.15: Top 5 Investments by Private Equity Funds, Infrastructure Funds and Institutional Investors
Target |
Sector |
Country |
Deal value ($ million) |
Investor(s) |
Senvion SE |
Wind |
Germany |
1,157 |
Centerbridge Partners LP |
Six solar PV plants in the UK (85MW) |
Solar |
UK |
153 |
Elliott Management Corp. |
Helioenergy 1, Helioenergy 2 & Shams 1 Solar Plants (200MW) & Tlemcem Honaine Desalination Plant |
Solar |
Spain / UAE / Algeria |
142 |
Abengoa Yield plc |
Eleven solar PV plants in the UK (153MW) |
Wind |
UK |
110 |
TerraForm Power Inc. |
Seven solar plants in south-west of England & Wales (53.4MW) |
Solar |
UK |
103 |
Capital Stage AG |
Venture Capital and Private Equity
European Venture Capital Investment by Sector
Energy Efficiency
Biofuels
n Q1.14 n Q4.14 n Q1.15
Solar
Wind
Water & Waste Water Treatment
0 100 200 300 400 500
Deal value ($ million)
European Venture Capital Investment by Country
Iceland
UK
n Q1.14 n Q4.14 n Q1.15
Germany
France
Luxembourg
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Deal value ($ million)
European M&A Activity: Q1.13 to Q1.15 ($ billion)
12 180
160
10
n Deals of over $500 million
n Deals of under $500 million
— Number of deals
140
8 120
100
6
80
4 60
40
2
20
0
Q1.13
Q2.13
Q3.13
Q4.13
Q1.14
Q2.14
Q3.14
Q4.14
0
Q1.15
Average M&A Investment: Q1.13 to Q1.15 |
|
Average Quarterly M&A Deal Volume ($ billion) |
6.1 |
Average number of deals per quarter |
129 |
Average M&A transaction value ($ million) |
47.7 |
Clean Energy Pipeline calculates M&A activity based on announced transactions within each quarter.
Mergers and Acquisitions
European M&A Activity by Sector
Wind
Solar
n Q1.14 n Q4.14 n Q1.15
Recycling & Wate
Biomass
Energy Efficiency
0 1 2 3 4 5
Deal value ($ billion)
European M&A Activity by Country
Germany
n Q1.14
UK n Q4.14
n Q1.15
France
Belgium
Italy
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Deal value ($ billion)
Mergers and Acquisitions
Q1.15: Top 5 European M&A Transactions
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
European Project Finance Deal Volume: Q1.13 to Q1.15 ($ billion)
20 n Northern Europe
n Central & Eastern Europe
n Southern Europe
n Western Europe
15
10
5
0
Q1.13
Q2.13
Q3.13
Q4.13
Q1.14
Q2.14
Q3.14
Q4.14
Q1.15
Project and Asset Finance
Q1.15: European Project Finance - Top 5 countries ($ billion)
Q1.14
Italy Spain
Total: $14 billion
France 6%
5% 2%
UK 44%
Germany 43%
Q4.14
Italy Spain
Total: $12.9 billion
France 16%
8% 0%
UK 44%
Germany 32%
Q1.15
France 12%
Italy 2%
Total: $10.3 billion
UK 60%
Germany 26%
Project and Asset Finance
European Project Finance – Top sectors ($ billion)
Q1.14
Total: $16.9 billion
Biomass 9%
Solar PV 29%
Off-shore wind 32%
On-shore wind 30%
Q4.14
Biomass 12%
Total: $16.1 billion
Solar PV 14%
Off-shore wind 39%
On-shore wind 35%
Q1.15
Total: $12.1 billion
Biomass 9%
Solar PV 29%
Off-shore wind 32%
On-shore wind 30%
Project and Asset Finance
Q1.15: Top 5 European Project Finance Transactions
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
Project and Asset Finance
Q1.15: European Project Finance by Sector
as a Percentage of Total Deal Volume / Total Number of Deals
Wind
n % of total deal value
n % of total numbers of deals
Solar
Biomass
Hydro
Other
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Total deal value and number of deals (%)
Public Markets
Quarterly Breakdown - Number of Public Market Deals (Q1.13 to Q1.15)
Q1.13 |
Q3.13 |
Q4.13 |
Q1.14 |
Q2.14 |
Q3.14 |
Q4.14 |
Q1.15 |
3 Deals
0 Deals
Q2.13
5 Deals
9 Deals
11 Deals
6 Deals
10 Deals 11 Deals 8 Deals
Quarterly Breakdown - Analysis of Percentage Contribution of Total Funds Raised by Quarter between Q1.13 and Q1.15
|
0 Deals Q2.13
11%
14%
24%
3% 13% 15% 13%
Please note:
No European clean energy companies raised funds on the public markets in Q2.13.
Europe > Middle East > Asia
© Taylor Wessing LLP 2015