CoreCapital on fundraising trail as it prepares for first deals

Karin Jensen
15 March 2023

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Danish PE firm CoreCapital is seeking to engage in further investor talks as it forges ahead with fundraising for its debut fund and prepares to kick off deployment, partner John Agerholm said.

The wind energy specialist, which held a first close on DKK 250m (EUR 33.5m) for its CoreCapital I vehicle, is interested in approaches from family offices and smaller institutional investors, as well as large institutional investors looking to enter the wind energy industry, Agerholm said.

The firm is already in dialogue with some investors and counts Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners among those in its LP base.

Investments
CoreCapital is ready to make its first acquisitions with up to two deals planned for 2023, Agerholm said. The firm will primarily target sub-suppliers in the wind industry but may also look at other green technologies such as Power-to-X and grid solutions.

It will focus on Denmark and Northern Europe, where Agerholm says the potential is "enormous". In Denmark alone, the sponsor has identified more than 500 potential targets, he added.

With some take-over processes ongoing, the firm will seek to buy SMEs with revenue of two or three-digit million DKK, he said.

CoreCapital will look at bolt-on acquisitions to grow its portfolio companies, for instance, by merging small, synergistic businesses.

The sub-supplier segment in the wind energy industry is characterised by numerous SMEs bound to embark on a consolidation similar to that of the large wind turbine manufacturers, Agerholm said. Many players in the industry are still owned by private individuals and often lack the financial muscles to set up facilities in markets such as the US, where many new projects are being installed, he added.

The current market is ideal to invest in the wind energy industry, with valuations having fallen significantly, Agerholm said, adding that this environment is likely to persist in 2023 and 2024.

CoreCapital was founded in March 2022 by Agerholm and Rolf Kragelund, who both have many years of experience in the wind energy industry, in management consulting and private equity, according to its website.

While CoreCapital I is yet to make its first investments, the CoreCapital founders partnered up with the Bagger-Sorensen family office for the acquisition of Grene Wind Industry Supplies (GWIS) in 2021, according to a press release. The deal was later followed by two bolt-on acquisitions, Nordic Offshore in January 2022, and Group MPASIA in December 2022.