US: EDF Renewable Energy Acquires OwnEnergy

EDF Renewable Energy announced that it has closed the acquisition of OwnEnergy, Inc. – a national developer of mid-sized wind projects.

The transaction encompasses 100% of OwnEnergy’s assets, including its pipeline of future wind projects. Since its founding in 2007, OwnEnergy has demonstrated its acumen to build partnerships with individuals, companies and communities with one simple goal: to create a platform for local clean energy entrepreneurs to lead the development of renewable energy projects. Today, the 20-person team boasts a successful development track record with eight wind projects either in a construction or operating phase. These projects represent 329 megawatts (MW) of developed wind energy assets sold to third parties. In addition, the company has built a robust portfolio of development assets through their innovative local partner business model.

“We are thrilled to welcome the OwnEnergy team to the EDF Renewable Energy family. We worked collaboratively during the due diligence to ensure that our respective cultures and customer oriented focus would fully align. Today, I am happy to make this announcement with the utmost confidence in our future success,” stated Tristan Grimbert, CEO and President of EDF RE. “OwnEnergy’s business model taps into the entrepreneurial spirit of farmers, ranchers and other community leaders across the country with a focus on the mid-size market of off-takers. Their community partner approach will continue under the EDF Renewable Energy brand.”

“Joining an entrepreneurial powerhouse like EDF Renewable Energy is a perfect fit for us,” said Jacob Susman, CEO of OwnEnergy. “They are acquiring us for the same reason that brand name corporations are buying our clean power - we are a successful entrepreneurial company that puts the community first. Our management team was able to scale the business in the face of a tough economy and an unstable policy environment. We are proud of the business OwnEnergy has built and look forward to developing more community-centric wind farms alongside our new EDF RE colleagues.”

EDF Renewable Energy is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America with 6 gigawatts (GW) of wind, solar, biomass, biogas, and storage projects developed and an installed capacity of 3.2 GW.

Marathon Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to OwnEnergy.