In a deal estimated to be worth more than $1 billion, Blackstone (BX.N) and Vista Equity Partners said on Tuesday that they would buy Australia’s Energy Exemplar, a supplier of energy market software, from private equity company Riverside Company.
The businesses withheld all financial information. The move was first reported by Reuters earlier in the day, prior to the firms revealing the arrangement.
The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that Riverside Company, the current owner of Energy Exemplar, will cash out and the two buyout groups will each possess a 50% interest.
As power utilities, grid operators, and producers of renewable energy turn to simulation software to fine-tune usage of production capacity and maximize efficiency, the transaction reflects a bet on the energy shift.
Under Riverside’s ownership, Energy Exemplar has expanded at a 30% annual compound pace since 2018, according to the sources. More than 500 businesses in 79 countries utilize the software tools that the North Adelaide-based company offers to model and anticipate the markets for gas, electricity, water, and renewable energy.
Currently establishing a new fund, Blackstone’s energy transition division is investing in Energy Exemplar. As of the end of August, the fund, known as Blackstone Energy Transition Partners IV, had raised $2.2 billion of its $5.6 billion goal, according a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Senior managing director of Blackstone Energy Transition Partners Bilal Khan expressed excitement about the company’s partnership with Vista and Energy Exemplar, saying that it will “drive the next stage of development for Energy Exemplar and its technology solutions supporting grid reliability and decarbonization.”
“This investment is the latest in a series demonstrating Blackstone’s conviction in the energy transition.”
Since announcing last year that it saw a chance to invest $100 billion in energy transition and climate change solutions projects over the next ten years, the New York-based buyout company has been actively entering this market.
