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Private markets giant Apollo Global Management has invested in an industrial construction company from its impact and climate funds. The funds have acquired a majority stake in The State Group from midmarket private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital, which has retained a minority stake.
The State Group, based in Tennessee, provides contracting services for industrial projects, including new construction, retrofits and maintenance. It also helps customers optimize and decarbonize their energy use.
Apollo’s impact and climate strategies include the $1 billion Impact Mission Fund, a 2022-vintage buyout strategy, and a private equity Clean Transition fund, part of the firm’s plan to invest $50 billion into sustainable and transition opportunities by 2027.
Where’s the impact?
The State Group has “a key role to play in driving energy efficiency and the energy transition,” Christine Hommes, a partner at Apollo, said. The company provides services in the renewable energy industry, as well as (traditional) energy, mining, power, automotive, chemicals, manufacturing and numerous other industries.
A majority of the company’s revenue, however, is aligned with “sustainable economy activity”, as defined by Apollo’s Climate and Transition Investment framework (outlined in its 2023 sustainability report), a source close to Apollo told ImpactAlpha.
The company was also screened through the Apollo Impact Mission strategy’s proprietary impact criteria, the source said. The criteria are derived from the Impact Management Platform’s “five dimensions of impact” and ensure that companies in the Impact Mission Fund are socially or environmentally impactful and aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals.
