Qualitas Energy acquires Heelstone, a US renewable energy company

MADRID, 30 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Qualitas Energy, the global investment and management platform specialized in renewable energy, announced this Tuesday the acquisition of Heelstone Renewable Energy, a large-scale renewable energy platform in the United States, until now owned by Ares Management.

Heelstone has a portfolio of solar PV and storage assets of 20 GW capacity, including 179 MW in operation, 175 MW under construction and the remainder are ready-to-build and under development projects.

Following this transaction, of which the financial details have not been revealed, Heelstone will continue its operations as an independent business within Qualitas Energy, maintaining its management team, as it brings "very valuable experience that includes the entire life cycle of projects and a deep knowledge of the US renewable energy sector," as highlighted by Qualitas Energy.

Furthermore, this operation "will significantly boost the growth trajectory of the company, which will transform from a cutting-edge developer to an independent producer of comprehensive renewable energy in the country."

The founding partner and CEO of Qualitas Energy, Iñigo Olaguibel, commented that this acquisition "aligns perfectly with the long-term objectives of Qualitas Energy, and accelerates the development of renewable energy projects in the United States."

For his part, the partner in Ares' Infrastructure Opportunities strategy, Mike Roth, has assured that since their investment in 2019, they have been "very proud of what the Heelstone team has achieved, especially their contributions to decarbonizing the electrical network".

In turn, Heelstone CEO Justin Gravatt added that the company "is very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Ares since 2019 through a very successful partnership" and that with the closing of this new acquisition , are "excited to see this progress continue with Qualitas Energy."

This acquisition marks Qualitas Energy's return to the United States, where it invested in 2008 through its first vehicle, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures.

The newly announced investment is part of the Q-Energy V fund, one of the largest vehicles in Europe dedicated to renewable energy, with a size close to 2.4 billion euros.

Qualitas Energy has announced that it expects the transaction to close in the coming months, once the usual regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Qualitas Energy has been advised by Macquarie Capital (M

For its part, Heelstone has had the collaboration of Jefferies LLC and Guggenheim Securities, LLC (financial) and Morgan Lewis (legal).