APG, ADIA and CalSTRS back CapDyn spin-off with $1bn

A consortium of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, APG Asset Management and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System have agreed a deal to form clean energy platform Arevon Energy.

Formerly Arevon Asset Management and the exclusive asset management provider to Capital Dynamics’ clean energy infrastructure group, Arevon Energy will now be a standalone platform held equally by the trio. The consortium will provide more than $1 billion in initial funding, a spokesperson for Capital Dynamics told Infrastructure Investor.

ADIA, APG and CalSTRS were the main investors in Capital Dynamics’ Clean Energy and Infrastructure V and VII funds, both of which closed in 2018 on $1.2 billion. The assets held in these funds will be transferred to Arevon Energy, while all assets in other CEI funds will remain with Capital Dynamics.

John Breckenridge, who joined Capital Dynamics in 2014 and was the group’s global head of its clean energy infrastructure unit, has left the fund manager to lead Arevon Energy as president and chief executive. He will be joined by four members of the Capital Dynamics US team in the role of vice-president, senior associate, associate and administrator, the spokesperson added.

Arevon Energy’s team also includes Justin Johnson, former head of Arevon Asset Management, as chief operating officer, Brian Callaway as chief financial officer and Tommy Greer as chief commercial officer.

“We bring a modern approach to the world of infrastructure, with expertise ranging from big data analytics to sophisticated financial modelling, from construction management in the field to dealmaking in the conference room,” Breckenridge wrote on LinkedIn, unveiling the new unit.

Arevon Energy, headquartered in Arizona and New York, will manage 4.5GW of operating, under construction and late-stage development solar and battery storage assets across the US. Going forwards, the unit is set to have in-house project finance, construction, development and operations capabilities, the spokesperson added.

Succession planning

Breckenridge will not be replaced by an external appointment. Instead, Simon Eaves, a senior managing director at the firm and head of its clean energy infrastructure division in Europe, will co-head its efforts globally alongside managing directors Barney Coles and Dario Bertagna. The three are based in London. The Capital Dynamics spokesperson said this did not represent a shift in strategy and, if anything, a “minor shift in our organisational strategy as we are taking a more holistic approach to the market with a united, streamlined global team”. Eaves is the longest-serving member of the trio, having joined from ADIA in 2015.

Capital Dynamics saw three members of its US-based team – managing directors Tim Short and Benoit Allehaut as well as vice-president Benjamin Droz – decamp in April to form an energy transition team at KKR.

“Capital Dynamics intends to rebuild a team in the US to oversee existing assets and further build our clean energy infrastructure portfolio. This includes the recent hiring of a senior portfolio manager who will work with the existing team, the expanded clean energy investment committee and Arevon to help oversee our clean energy infrastructure assets in the US,” the spokesperson said.

Capital Dynamics and Arevon will maintain a relationship and have entered into a consulting services agreement, the pair said in a statement. Arevon will also continue to manage Capital Dynamics’ existing US renewables assets, they added. Capital Dynamics owns close to 8GW of generation capacity in the US and Europe.