September 14, 2023: Global investment firm KKR is acquiring joint control of UK-based Zenobē alongside existing investor Infracapital, in a deal that values the business at around £900 million ($1.1 billion).
Zenobē, an international EV fleet and battery storage specialist, confirmed on September 7 it had secured a £600 million equity boost from KKR, in addition to around £270 million from existing shareholder Infracapital.
The companies did not disclose shareholding details, although unconfirmed reports suggested KKR’s stake would be around 45%.
Jera and Tepco Power Grid will remain as minority shareholders after completion of the deal, which is subject to various regulatory approvals.
Zenobē said the move will enable the firm to speed-up the design and construction of two additional battery storage sites across Scotland.
It will also enable the extension in capacity of a BESS already being developed in Scotland, which will support the integration of wind power into the grid and Zenobē’s target to commission about 1.2GW of storage in the UK by 2026.
The investments will also back the firm’s target to develop an additional 2.5GW of BESS facilities in North America and Australia by 2030.
Zenobē co-founder and director Nicholas Beatty said KKR’s backing would underpin expansion plans for a number of markets and support the firm’s ability to raise further debt funding for its plans.
Image: Zenobē’s initial Scotland project will deploy Fluence’s Gridstack ESS technology, as illustrated above in the Gridstack project for Ina Energy in Taiwan