Â鶹ֱ²¥ & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to Avantus, a premier U.S. developer of large utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects, in its signing of a definitive agreement by which investment funds and accounts managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm, will acquire a majority stake in Avantus.
Following the close of the transaction, KKR and existing investor EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors, will be the sole equity investors in Avantus. Both equity sponsors are dedicated to supporting the next phase of Avantus’ growth, including having secured commitments for a substantial development financing facility alongside their equity commitments to the company, totaling upwards of $1 billion in the aggregate.
Founded in 2009, Avantus supports solar and energy storage development throughout the project lifecycle – from selecting a project site through operations – and owns a large project pipeline of 30 GWp of solar and 94 GWh of battery storage, enough to provide 20 million people with clean, reliable power. The company has a substantial presence and track-record of successful development in the southwestern U.S. and California power markets, which are among the highest-quality markets for development in the U.S. Since its founding, Avantus has developed and sold 6.5 GWp and 6.3 GWh of solar and storage projects, respectively.
The Â鶹ֱ²¥ team was led by corporate partners Paul Broude and Julie-Anne Lutfi and included senior counsel Eric Lauria-Banta and associates Megan Fouse, Graham MacEwan, and Lydia Stambaugh, with assistance from partners Jason Allen, Jeffery Atkin, Kathleen Bardunias, Jason Barglow, Benjamin Dryden, Edward Hammond, Paul Hunter, Ethan Lenz, Gregory Neppl, John Palmer, Michael Pontrelli, Alan Rutenberg, Michael Small, Raj Tanden, Jennifer Urban, and Christopher Ward, of counsels Isaac Morris and Thomas Mullooly, senior counsels Jordan Bergmann and Nicholas Johnson, special counsel Olga Petukhova, and associates Michelle Ahn, Richard Flannery, and Alexander Misakian.
