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Marguerite II and FIEE complete investment in City Green Light
Major energy efficiency investment of approximately €100 million in support of the development of City Green Light:
- Marguerite II invested circa €40 million
- Fondo Italiano per l’Efficienza Energetica (FIEE) increased its investment in the company to over €58 million
- The deal is one of the largest in public lighting energy efficiency in Europe
Rome/Arcugnano (Vicenza), Luxembourg – 28 May 2018 – Following the investment by Fondo Italiano per l’Efficienza Energetica (FIEE) – the first Italian equity fund entirely dedicated to investing in projects in the energy efficiency sector – on 6 February 2018, Marguerite (through its second pan-European equity fund Marguerite II) invested in City Green Light to further support the development of the company and its investment plan. The deal, one of the largest in the public lighting energy efficiency sector in Europe, involves:
- an increase of FIEE’s investment from €33.1 million to over €58 million, drawing in part on additional financial resources committed by FIEE’s existing institutional investors; and
- an investment by Marguerite II of approximately €40 million.
City Green Light is the leading Italian private operator in the public lighting sector to which Gemmo S.p.A. contributed its public lighting business unit last December.
The company currently manages circa 400,000 light points in various Italian municipalities in northern, central and southern Italy (including Parma, Lecce, Venice, Pisa, Ravenna, Varese, Viterbo, Olbia and Avellino).
The additional capital raised will be used to sustain the further development of energy-efficient public lighting by City Green Light, with the goal of more than doubling the number of light points managed to over 900,000.
The LED technologies used by the company allow energy savings of more than 50%. City Green Light has also participated in important tenders that, if successful, will lead to additional growth.
Following the full subscription of the capital increases, FIEE (directly and through co-investment vehicles open to institutional investors already invested in FIEE) will hold c. 57% of City Green Light, Marguerite c. 39% and Gemmo the remainder.
The Chairman of FIEE’s Board of Directors, Raffaele Mellone, stated: “We are very pleased to announce the closing of this important investment just three months after taking a position in City Green Light. We are equally proud that we have played a role in securing an investment in one of the best Italian companies in the energy-efficiency sector by a top-tier European investor such as Marguerite, which we hope will continue to partner with us on new interesting investment opportunities.”
William Pierson, Partner at Marguerite added: “We are very pleased to team up with FIEE and Gemmo and look forward to working with them on this exceptional project.”
The FIEE Fund, which held its final closing in December 2017, raising a total of €166 million, and above its original goal of €150 million, is currently invested in Plangreen 2E S.r.l. (lighting for large retail stores) and Selettra (public lighting), in addition to City Green Light. The Fund is actively working on various additional energy-efficiency initiatives, in particular in co-generation and energy services, as well as in energy solutions for apartment buildings.
The deal represents the first investment in the energy efficiency sector of Marguerite, following the recent closing of Marguerite II in December 2017.
FIEE and Marguerite were assisted by the Studio Lombardi Segni e Associati and the Milan based team of Ashurst (legal advisors), Pricewaterhousecoopers (accounting and tax advisor), Sinloc and Alberto Soresini (technical advisors).
Gemmo was assisted by Long Term Partners (financial advisor) and by Withers (legal advisor).