HTGF, Neuhaus Partners sell stakes in Next Kraftwerke

Harriet Matthews
26 February 2021

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Neuhaus Partners have sold their stakes in virtual power plants operator Next Kraftwerke to Shell, which will wholly acquire the company.

Angel investors Dirk Freise and Martin Ostermayer are also selling their stakes in the business in the deal, according to a statement from HTGF.

A statement from Shell noted that additional selling shareholders include Dutch energy company Eneco Smart Energy, Lutz Ruttinger and Thomas Niedrig, as well as founders Hendrik Samisch and Jochen Schwill.

The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 2021.

Shell said in a statement that the acquisition is part of the development of its electricity strategy in the renewable energy sector.

The deal is Shell's second acquisition of a VC-backed German startup within a month. In January 2021, Shell acquired electric vehicle charging business Ubitricity, as reported.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in March 2020 that Next Kraftwerke was attracting interest from strategic investors, citing CEO Hendrik Sämisch.

Previous funding
In May 2020, HTGF, Neuhaus Partners and business angels provided seed funding for Next Kraftwerke. At the time, HTGF was investing via its debut fund, which closed on €272m in January 2005. Neuhaus Partners invested via its Neuhaus III vehicle.

In October 2013, HTGF and Neuhaus Partners provided a further round of funding for the company.

Sämisch told Mergermarket that the company had received an additional investment in the €1-9m range from its existing investors in 2019, although the round was not publicly disclosed.

Company
Next Kraftwerke was founded in 2009 as a spin-off from the Institute of Energy Economics (EWI) at the University of Cologne. The company is a virtual power plant operator that connects and controls more than 10,000 decentralised renewable energy units across eight countries in Europe, allowing the electricity that they generate to be traded on electricity wholesale markets.

Next Kraftwerke employs 180 people and posted 2018 revenues of €627.7m.

People
High-Tech Gründerfonds – Klaus Lehmann (partner).
Neuhaus Partners – Gottfried Neuhaus (founder, partner emeritus).
Next Kraftwerke – Hendrik Sämisch, Jochen Schwill (founders, co-CEOs).
Shell – David Wells (vice president, Shell Energy Europe); Fabian Ziegler (CEO, Deutsche Shell Holding).

Advisers
Company – Nomura Greentech (corporate finance).