East and West African renewable energy service provider Starsight Energy and South African solar power provider SolarAfrica Energy are merging to expand their businesses with ambitions to become one of the largest major commercial and industrial (C&I) solar developers in Africa.
The proposed merger combines the strengths of the duo to unlock a pan-African renewable energy service provider positioned to serve a wider range of customers with a comprehensive mix of technology-based renewable energy solutions that delivers energy security, cost savings costs and reduced carbon emissions.
Merger is subject to standard regulatory approvals, including antitrust approvals, which can take up to six months, Starsight Energy Group CFO said Paul van Zijl.
However, should it go ahead, the yet-to-be-named merged entity will include a portfolio of over 220MW of operated and contracted generation capacity – with an additional generation pipeline. exceeding 1 GW – and 40 MWh of operational battery storage, covering three key geographic hubs, namely East, Southern and West Africa.
Further pan-African diversification is envisaged, particularly in French-speaking Africa.
The newly formed entity will include 340 employees across multiple jurisdictions and create a combined shareholder group offering the financial capacity to deliver renewable energy services across Africa.
The transaction is backed by Africa-focused private investment firm Helios Investment Partners and infrastructure private equity manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).
“This merger demonstrates our shared commitment to expanding our footprint across Africa. With SolarAfrica, the new combined group becomes one of the largest commercial providers of reliable and clean energy solutions for the commercial and industrial sector across the continent,” said the CEO of Starsight Energy Group. Tony Carr.
The merger is expected to drive efficiencies across the group, from procurement to financing, and further enable the deployment of its proprietary technology platform across the continent.
“These efficiencies will help the group deliver a unique and valuable offering, which will take customers on a green energy journey to resolve their power struggles and enable a sustainable future for their businesses,” adds the co-founder and CEO of Solar Africa Energy. david mcdonald.
AIIM MD and Co-Head Olusola Lawson comments that the transformational Starsight/SolarAfrica merger is a strong illustration of value creation in Africa’s nascent renewable energy commercial and industrial space.
“As one of the largest renewable energy equity investors in Africa and with a renewable energy portfolio of approximately 2 GW, AIIM has been privileged to play a key role in the growth and expansion of the Starsight platform over the past five years.”
Concurrent with the merger, funds managed by AIIM have committed substantial additional funds to the South African subsidiary of the merged entity, to advance the construction of the contracted pipeline in the C&I transportation market in South Africa, providing energy security and price certainty to large C&I customers.
“We are excited to continue supporting the company with additional funding to accelerate the completion of its important pipeline, and we look forward to the continued success of the combined platform.”
The transaction creates a market leader in the largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a long track record of providing cleaner, more reliable energy solutions for its customers, delivered at competitive price points.
Helios Partner Ogbemi Ofuya says the group is excited about the significant growth prospects of the expanded Starsight platform.
“Helios has been part of Starsight’s journey since its inception and has supported the growth of the business by leveraging our experience in building and scaling market-leading infrastructure businesses on the continent. .
Starsight Energy, founded in 2015 and backed by Helios and AIIM, provides reliable and sustainable power and cooling solutions – on and off-grid – to the C&I sectors in East and West Africa with over 656 sites in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
Founded in 2011, SolarAfrica provides energy solutions through Power Purchase Agreements to businesses in Southern Africa, evolving from a specialist provider of rooftop solar PV systems to a full-service provider of power solutions. energy without capital expenditure, ranging from solar and battery storage options to power transmission and trading to the C&I market.
“SolarAfrica has already positioned itself as a competitive player in the new power transmission space, having recently signed large blue-chip customers,” says McDonald.
“The group is now well placed to serve large electricity users with a lower cost electricity alternative from a recently developed centralized solar generation site, taking advantage of recently revised South African regulations allowing rolling and self-production up to 100 MW by private generators.”
Looking ahead, both parties believe that their combined expertise, along with SolarAfrica’s energy solutions software platform, which enables its sales teams to customize energy proposals and produce accurate savings projections , will not only position the group as Africa’s leading provider of green energy solutions for commercial and industrial electricity users, but will also accelerate Africa’s transition to a greater renewable energy mix.
Beyond the global shift towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions through decarbonization, the demand for cost-effective and reliable electricity by commercial and industrial users will continue to grow and open up new opportunities in the sector. renewable energies, particularly in South Africa, where electricity supply is expected to remain constrained with a significant deficit in production capacity.