On Monday, private equity colossus Blackstone announced that private equity funds managed by its subsidiary Blackstone Energy Partners will acquire Therma Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of Connecticut-based middle-market private equity investor Gemspring Capital.
Therma, which is headquartered in California but owns companies in multiple U.S. states, is a specialty mechanical, electrical and controls services company that designs, builds, and services complex building systems. These include mechanical, plumbing, electricity, refrigeration, building automation, and HVAC technologies for mission-critical facilities.
Therma’s end-clients include data centers, technology companies, biopharmaceutical and health care facilities, industrial and manufacturing firms, and more. The firm has made a number of strategic acquisitions in recent years, focusing on mission-critical building services with $40 million-plus in annual revenues.
RE Tech
Together with Therma, Blackstone Energy Partners will acquire RE Tech Advisors, Inc., a leading energy and sustainability consulting firm. RE Tech will be folded into Therma, and the combined company will offer customers a comprehensive suite of sustainability, carbon reduction, and energy management services.
RE Tech designs, administers, and tracks award-winning energy efficiency and environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs for clients – which include leading real estate investors, owners, and governments. To date, the company has delivered more than $200 million of utility cost reductions by implementing approximately 10,000 energy efficiency measures across more than 3,000 assets.
RE Tech has worked with Blackstone on portfolio company projects since 2014. RE Tech’s seasoned professionals have decades of experience improving the operational and financial performance of real asset portfolios with over $1 trillion of assets under management. RE Tech services include program design and implementation, energy auditing, data analytics, climate change and carbon solutions, regulatory compliance, and marketing and communications. RE Tech also authored and helps run some of the world’s largest public-private partnerships, including ENERGY STAR and the Better Buildings Initiative.
Blackstone said in a company announcement on Monday that it believes that increased focus on and demand for energy efficiency and improved indoor air quality in the coming years should lead to new growth opportunities for Therma. In turn, Therma can potentially help Blackstone’s portfolio companies meet their emissions reduction targets. Blackstone recently expanded its existing environmental sustainability efforts by setting a goal of 15 percent carbon emissions reduction across all new investments where it controls energy usage.”
Commenting on the transaction, Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone said, “We are strong believers in the continued growth of technology, healthcare and data center end-markets and look forward to partnering with the Therma and RE Tech teams on growing the business and solving the complex energy efficiency needs at mission-critical facilities across the US.”
“Blackstone Energy Partners has been supporting the transition to cleaner, affordable energy through investments in critical energy infrastructure, renewable power generation, battery storage and the electric transmission grid,” said David Foley, Global Head of Blackstone Energy Partners. “We also see opportunities to help companies become more efficient – consuming less energy and generating less carbon dioxide while not compromising productivity, safety and comfort. Therma and RE Tech are doing just that and can help Blackstone achieve its own recently announced goal of reducing emissions.”
Completion of the transaction, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2020, is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
To date, Blackstone Energy Partners has invested over $17 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry.
