Vortex Energy, a global renewable energy platform, has reached the first closure of $200m (including a $25m conditional commitment) for its flagship Vortex Energy IV fund. The fund, which serves as the company's fourth, is anchored by EFG Hermes and Abu Dhabi sovereign institutional investors and family offices, among others. Vortex Energy IV was established in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), where the team will be based, and will work alongside Vortex Energy's existing and growing team in London. Since its establishment in 2015, Vortex Energy has been successfully pursuing renewable energy investments, completing the full cycle of investment and divestment of about 822 MWs of wind and solar energy assets in Europe. Industry dynamics and market sentiment are highly supportive of this ever growing asset class. In 2020, alone, the renewables share of all annual power capacity additions reached 82%, compared to 15% a decade earlier. Today, there are a wide range of investment opportunities that cater to the growing demand for sustainability and increased political and economic drive to support clean energy transition. Karim Moussa, Head of Private Equity and Asset Management at EFG Hermes and CEO of Vortex Energy, said, "We are very excited about the launch of Vortex Energy IV, as the global opportunity is clear and tangible, with renewable energy becoming mainstream." "We expect with more net-zero policies and major decarbonizing initiatives to see additions in renewable energy generation of about 2 TW and investments of about $3trn by 2030 globally," he added, "I am confident that with our track record of deploying more than $1.6bn in European assets and returning double-digit IRRs, we will be able to grow a substantial asset base for our fund investors." He also noted that the company is excited to continue building its business and investor base to reach its target size for the fund of $750m within the coming two years. Bakr Abdel-Wahab, CIO of Vortex Energy, said, "We will employ an active investment strategy for Vortex Energy IV, looking to support developers and independent power producers (IPPs) to reach their full potential, in addition to investing in operating assets in countries that offer attractive returns." "The landscape is changing and energy transition investments are becoming more complex compared to traditional assets with long-term contracted cash-flow profiles," he said, adding, "With our skill set and experience, I am confident that we have the tools in place to gain a further foothold in the industry, and we are already looking at a very interesting pipeline of deals and companies worth about $2bn in Europe and the US." Vortex Energy IV will target all energy transition verticals, including generation (utility scale solar PV, on/offshore wind, hydropower, biomass, distributed generation), storage, EV charging facilities, as well as supply- and demand-side energy services. The fund scope covers the entire asset lifecycle including operating plants, IPPs, development companies, greenfield, and commercial and industrial solutions. The geographical focus is on developed and developing European countries, North America, Latin America and Australia. Chimera Capital acted as strategic advisor to Vortex Energy in relation to ADGM, whilst White & Case provided legal advisory, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) lent structuring services and Apex administration support.
