CarVal Investors acquires minority stake in Verogy – EQ Mag Pro
Growth equity investment catalyzes 500 megawatts of projects currently in Verogy’s development pipeline
HARTFORD, Conn. : Verogy, a leading, vertically integrated solar developer focused on the commercial, industrial and small utility-scale segments, has sold a minority stake in its business to funds managed by CarVal Investors, L.P., a Minneapolis-based global alternative asset manager with approximately $14 billion in assets under management.
The strategic, long-term partnership created by CarVal’s investment in Verogy – a partnership of two established, successful firms in the solar development space with extensive track records – creates a pool of capital available for the development and ownership of 500 megawatts of solar projects. This availability of capital will be of immediate benefit to Verogy’s current and prospective clients.
As part of the transaction, the entirety of Verogy’s founding management team will continue in their roles, and will also maintain a significant equity stake in the company. Board oversight of Verogy will be managed by representatives from both CarVal and Verogy’s founding management team. In addition, affiliates of Stonehenge Growth Capital, LLC, a provider of venture capital, private equity and mezzanine debt and Verogy’s pre-seed equity investor, will also retain a significant equity stake in the firm.
“It’s difficult to overstate how excited we are about partnering with CarVal,” said Will Herchel, Verogy’s Co-Founder and CEO. “This partnership meaningfully expands Verogy’s ability to develop, build and own projects for our clients for the foreseeable future, and partners us with a savvy, sophisticated capital provider for the long haul.”
“We have evaluated several solar development platforms over the years,” said Jerry Keefe, a Principal at CarVal. “The two driving factors that made this investment in Verogy attractive to CarVal were the management team’s significant experience developing projects, and their ‘ownership mentality,’ as indicated by their desire to maintain a meaningful ownership percentage in the business. We are excited to continue to expand on Verogy’s already impressive growth trajectory.”
“These are interesting times in the landscape for raising capital for solar development platforms,” said Patrick Norton, a Managing Director at Javelin Capital, who served as Verogy’s financial advisor for this transaction. “This transaction is a testament to the enduring strength of both parties’ demonstrated ability to roll up their sleeves and drive value for their clients in a variety of market contexts. We can’t wait to observe and celebrate this formidable partnership in the years to come.”
The transaction closed on April 29, 2022. Javelin Capital served as financial advisor and Baker Botts LLP served as legal counsel to Verogy. Marathon Capital served as financial advisor and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal counsel to CarVal.
About CarVal Investors
CarVal Investors is an established global alternative investment manager focused on distressed and credit-intensive assets and market inefficiencies. Since 1987, CarVal’s team has navigated through ever-changing credit market cycles, opportunistically investing $135 billion in 5,630 transactions across 82 countries. Today, CarVal Investors has approximately $14 billion in assets under management in corporate securities, loan portfolios, structured credit and hard assets.
