Andres Gonzalez, Emma-Victoria Farr and Isla Binney
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Partners Group is exploring options including a sale to German renewable energy company VSB Group, six sources familiar with the matter said.
The Swiss private equity firm has been interviewing financial advisers over the past few weeks, the sources said, adding that the sale process could begin in the second quarter.
The sale of VSB could reach a valuation of $2 billion, including debt, two sources said, while a third said the value would be between $1 billion and $2 billion.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is confidential, cautioned that the deal was not guaranteed and was subject to market conditions.
Partners Group declined to comment. VSB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The possible sale coincides with a fall in the value of renewable assets, although interest in the sector remains high as the European Union requires 42.5% of the bloc’s energy to be renewable by 2030.
If the sale goes through, VSB will likely attract interest from infrastructure funds and utilities, two sources said.
Utilities and oil companies are selling renewable assets to sovereign wealth and infrastructure funds, which require lower returns to finance the costs of developing new projects.
Earlier this week, German renewable energy producer Encavis AG said it was in talks with KKR about interest in a potential deal.
The partners first invested in 2020 in VSB, which employs 500 people in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Greece, Finland and Croatia, the company says on its website.
In October, Partners acquired Exus, a global renewable energy asset management and development firm, and decided to sell VSB instead of merging the two companies, which was one of the options, one of the people said.
(This story has been rewritten to correct a typo in paragraph 1)