Transition Equity: Solar panel onshoring provides catalyst for Heliene growth; Silver Lake-backed Endeavour sells IMG Live Events to TKO

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Transition Equity: Solar panel onshoring provides catalyst for Heliene growth; Silver Lake-backed Endeavour sells IMG Live Events to TKO

Good morning, Hubsters. Senior reporter Michael Schoeck here with the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom.

Today we’ve got an original story to highlight in renewable energy, with Transition Equity Partners partner Michael Allison discussing the four-year old energy transition investor’s latest deal backing Heliene, a Canadian company that is producing solar panels in Minnesota.

And sticking with renewable energy for a moment, we have results from BCG’s latest update that shows private equity-backed companies are increasingly using renewables as a sustainability positioning tool.

In deal news, live entertainment is top of mind. TKO Group Holdings announced an agreement to acquire Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG Live Events from Silver Lake Capital-backed Endeavor Group Holdings in an all-equity transaction valued at $3.25 billion.

And we’ll close out today’s Wire with my latest companies for sale update as of late October, as buyers and sellers try to get to a 25 percent margin this year for companies able to reach a deal announcement.

But first let’s take a look at a Canadian solar panel company that raised $54 million from private equity investors to produce solar panels in Minnesota.

Made in USA solar

Transition Equity Partners saw federal incentives, including the domestic manufacturing provision from the Inflation Reduction Act, as key drivers for a $54 million growth equity financing investment in Heliene, an assembly and distributor of solar panels headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

The investment, signed earlier this month in collaboration with a consortium of limited partners including Hamilton Lane, will support the company to expand annual production capacity, Transition Equity partner Michael Allison told me.

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Survey says more renewables

Renewable energy has been a focal point in the ESG mindset of many companies, and that also includes private equity-backed companies, according to a new survey from BCG.

Find out more in the premium version of the Wire.

Bull riding, fashion and concerts

Live entertainment, film production and sporting events continue to be fertile ground for PE-backed buyers and sellers.

TKO Group Holdings announced an agreement this morning to acquire Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG Live Events from Silver Lake Capital-backed Endeavor Group Holdings in an all-equity transaction valued at $3.25 billion.

Sign up for the premium version of the Wire for more details.

On the block

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been tracking companies or corporate carveout assets that sources have told me are on the market or coming to the market in a matter of months, potentially attracting PE buyers. The list I’m tracking has grown to about 195 companies.

Sign up for the premium version of the Wire for alerts on companies for sale.

That’s a wrap for me today. Stay tuned for Irien Joseph bringing you the Europe edition of the Wire tomorrow and John R Fischer delivering the US edition.

Cheers,

Michael

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

Verdane wants to expand Cropster’s product offering across the coffee value chain in a market where artisan coffee has built its own fandom, Munich-based partner Dominik Schwarz told PE Hub. M&A could also play a part as the company seeks to add regulatory compliance functionality.

National Security Capital Partners, founded by an ex-senior counterintelligence officer, is in the market with an inaugural buyout fund, sources told Buyouts. The Chicago manager launched NATSEC Capital Partners Buyout Fund in the first quarter to invest in dual-use technologies critical to national security, sources said. The vehicle is targeting $300 million with a hard-cap of $1 billion.

New York-headquartered investment firm General Atlantic is back in the market with a large multi-asset deal, three years after it ran a $3 billion multi-asset continuation vehicle. (Secondaries Investor)

Farmland Partner’s sale of a $289 million portfolio of US farmland came about because The Church of Later-Day Saints affiliate Farmland Reserve was hunting for new assets. (Agri Investor)

TPG has raised $1.8 billion for its TPG AG Credit Solutions III fund, a special situations debt fund for corporates in North America and Central and Western Europe, according to filings with the SEC. (Private Debt Investor)

They said it

“As a private equity firm, we look at all investments from the infrastructure lens, but we like the downside of an atypical infrastructure investment. We looked at more than 10 deal opportunities in the supply chain and services vertical before executing on Heliene.”

— Michael Allison, partner at Transition Equity Partners, on the nascent private equity investor investing in the Canadian solar panel producer.