ImpactAlpha’s deal news coverage for the week:
Agrifood investing. Arya, based in Noida, India, raised $30 million in debt from GuarantCo and HSBC India to offer credit and crop storage to smallholder farmers… Valency International secured $15 million to expand cashew products in Côte d’Ivoire.
Clean tech. Bedrock Ventures, a woman-led company in Austin, Texas, raised $12 million from Energy Impact Partners, Sustainable Future Ventures, Elemental Impact and other investors for its geothermal-powered heat pumps… Vancouver-based lithium refining company Mangrove Lithium secured $35 million from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mitsubishi Corp., Orion Industrial Ventures and others, to set up a refining plant in British Columbia.
Climate intelligence. Decarbonization Partners backed Orennia for energy transition data… Munich-based Ecoplanet closed €16 million in a Series A equity round for its energy management software for businesses… Sightline, which publishes climate tech newsletter CTVC, raised a $5.5 million seed round to ramp up its climate data services.
Emerging managers. GCM Grosvenor raised $800 million from California Public Employees’ Retirement System and other investors for its Elevate Fund, which invests in emerging managers. Private equity LPs are seeking out new managers for fresh ideas and portfolio diversification (see, The Liist).
Energy transition. Africa-focused renewable energy company Ignite Power acquired off-grid solar company ENGIE Energy Access with plans to expand its services to 14 African countries… Miami-based On.Energy closed a $77.6 million construction credit agreement from Pathward and BridgePeak Energy Capital to expand its Palo de Agua battery storage site in Texas… UK-based GRYD Energy, which offers solar subscription services to households and developers, attracted £1 million ($1.2 million) in pre-seed funding from Black Seed VC and other investors.
Financial inclusion. Accion Venture Lab backed Foyer to support America’s first-time homebuyers… Naked topped up financing to add climate coverage to insurance policies in South Africa.
Fund news. BNP Paribas raised €172 million ($179 million) for its Solar Impulse Venture Fund, an SFDR Article 9 fund that invests in European and North American tech companies supporting sustainable cities and clean energy… Swedfund invested €40 million ($41 million) in the Emerging Africa and Asia Infrastructure Fund to back sustainable infrastructure projects in Africa and Asia… The European Investment Bank and Allianz raised €450 million toward a €500 million goal for their Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund. The blended finance fund, launched in 2021, invests in climate adaptation and mitigation funds working in Asia, Africa and Latin America (see related, “How commercial investors are streamlining blended fund structures”).
Gender-lens investing. Family office Ceniarth led a $10 million investment in Deetken Impact’s Ilu Women’s Empowerment Fund, which was launched in 2016 to invest in women’s empowerment and climate resilience… Netherlands-based Borski Fund, a women-led firm that invests in women-led companies developing products and services for women, inked an investment from M&G Investments and reached a final close after nearly five years in the market… Patience Marime-Ball’s Women of the World Endowment has transferred its assets to Women’s World Banking, run by Mary Ellen Iskenderian (listen to the podcast, “Accelerating financial inclusion by bringing women’s financial habits online”).
Green infrastructure. London-based LAIIER, which helps real estate developers remotely manage water issues, raised $4 million in a seed extension round led by Closed Loop Partners. LAIIER will expand to North America… Renewable energy infrastructure investor Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners raised over $450 million in debt from Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Mizuho Bank and other banks for a large battery storage project in Australia… Veir, a superconductor technology provider based in Woburn, Mass., snagged $75 million from MunichRE to boost the transmission capacity of grid infrastructure. Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, National Grid Partners, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Galvanize and others also invested.
Low-carbon transportation. Boeing invested in Norwegian sustainable aviation fuel company Norsk e-Fuel to help the company build its first industrial-scale production plant… KKR acquired Dawsongroup to decarbonize vehicle fleets and leased assets… Shift4Good clinched $230 million for sustainable transportation in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Ownership economy. With its stake in Henry Schein, KKR pushes shared ownership of public companies.
Plastic recycling. Circulate Capital is expanding in Latin America with investment in Mexican recycling.
Small businesses. French development finance institution Proparco invested €10 million ($10.4 million) in private equity firm AfricInvest’s Small Cap fund to back small and mid-sized African businesses in education, health and agriculture… Namdev Finvest, a small business lender based in Jaipur, India, secured $38 million in debt from Developing World Markets, BlueOrchard and Mirova… The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and BLinC Invest led Bizloan’s 350 million-rupee ($4 million) Series A round to expand lending to India’s micro and small businesses.
