EQT’s EQT Infrastructure VI fund has acquired Madison Energy Investments (MEI) from affiliates of Stonepeak Partners LP. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Vienna, VA, MEI is a developer, owner, and operator of distributed solar and energy storage projects for commercial and industrial (C&I) and community-based customers within the U.S.
Since inception, MEI has built a portfolio of more than 386 MW across the U.S. MEI’s on-site and proximate distributed energy projects address energy supply issues by delivering cost savings and enabling avoidance of transmission constraints for its customers.
EQT Infrastructure will support the MEI management team and platform by providing access to growth capital to accelerate the deployment of distributed solar and storage assets, offering EQT’s in-house digital expertise to further digitize the organization, and expanding MEI’s reach across a broader customer base.
“EQT Infrastructure has followed the renewable distributed generation market and MEI closely for several years given the strong thematic tailwinds supporting the sector, prior EQT experience in solar development and operation, and MEI’s strong position as a leading integrated platform in the U.S.,” says Alex Darden, partner and head of EQT’s U.S. “Infrastructure platform The renewable generation sector is an increasingly important part of the energy transition, and we are excited to partner with the MEI team as they build on their strong track record and continue to provide solar and storage energy solutions that are not only better for the environment, but also have tangible cost savings for their customers.”
“We are looking forward to partnering with EQT’s U.S. infrastructure platform. EQT’s team, experience and growth mindset make them the ideal partner to amplify our business in achieving new heights in clean energy,” states Richard Walsh, managing partner of MEI. “This is an exciting chapter we call ‘MEI 2.0’ – a transformative time in the industry with strong policy tailwinds, compelling economics for our customers and ever-increasing demand for resiliency and ESG solutions. Our focus remains on our customers and our partners to lead them through this critical energy transition. We could not be more excited to lean into the EQT portfolio and accelerate that mission.”
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in Q1 2023. With the acquisition of MEI, EQT Infrastructure VI (target fund size of EUR 20.0 billion) will be 0-5% invested based on its target fund size. The agreement to acquire MEI is the first transaction signed by EQT Infrastructure VI, which means that the fund has been activated and started charging management fees. EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 80-85% invested following recent acquisitions (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication) and continues to be in its commitment period but management fees will, following activation of EQT Infrastructure VI, be based on net invested capital.