Goldman, Tennenbaum buy into Asian downstream solar

Tennenbaum Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs BDC have acquired Conergy Asia Pacific, the Asia arm of the German downstream solar company, from Kawa Capital Management for an undisclosed sum. 

Singapore-based Conergy Asia Pacific specialises in the development, design, finance, construction and long-term asset management of utility-scale solar projects and has been the EPC contractor and O&M provider for approximately 500MW of solar plants. The unit has operations in Japan, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Germany.

Conergy has installed almost 2GW of solar capacity globally, the company said.

Florida-based Kawa Capital bought Conergy, including its sales and services and operations business in Europe, in 2013. The company has been involved in the rooftop solar market in Europe, but its focus in Asia-Pacific remains on project development, financing and long-term asset management. 

“Extensive experience and access to capital of Tennenbaum and Goldman Sachs will strengthen Conergy’s financial position, enhance our capabilities, and allow us to pursue new business opportunities in the region and execute our plans for growth in Australia, the emerging markets of South-East Asia and Japan,” said Alexander Lenz, chief executive of Conergy.

The US investors, which both focus on direct lending and specialty financing, see the acquisition as an opportunity to participate in the Asia-Pacific market, “one of the most attractive solar markets in the world today”, added Rajneesh Vig, managing partner of Los Angeles-based Tennenbaum.