convenient capital (www.VantageCapital.co.za), Africa's largest mezzanine debt fund manager, announced that it has invested R635m in Commercial Energy South Africa (“CESA”), a subsidiary of SolarAfrica Energy (“SolarAfrica”), a leading South African energy solutions provider, with co-investor Greenpoint Capital. CESA owns commercial and industrial (“C&I”) solar and battery energy assets developed by SolarAfrica.
The investment includes a mezzanine facility which was used to spin out Inspired Evolution from CESA, making SolarAfrica 100% owner of CESA.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa, SolarAfrica provides solar-PV, battery storage, energy trading, power wheeling and gas-to-power services for C&I customers, helping businesses reduce electricity costs, secure reliable power and reduce carbon emissions. SolarAfrica has a strong track record, having delivered ~343MW of funded solar projects in Southern Africa (with over 1.14GW being commissioned). SolarAfrica has twice been recognized as African Solar Company of the Year (2021 and 2023) by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA).
CESA C&I acts as a holding company for the rooftop solar and battery storage solution assets that are developed by SolarAfrica. CESA currently has a portfolio of assets with energy capacity of ~90MW across 134 different sites. All assets within CESA are managed by SolarAfrica.
Rochelle Ramdeni, Partner at Vantage Capital, said, “This transaction reflects our strong belief in distributed energy infrastructure and the strength of SolarAfrica's platform. CESA's contracted C&I solar and battery portfolio provides predictable cash flow and supports South Africa's transition to reliable and sustainable electricity. We look forward to working closely with SolarAfrica and Greenpoint as the platform continues to expand.”
Warren van der Merwe, Managing Partner of Vantage Capital, said: “Vantage has provided senior debt to a number of renewable energy projects through its GreenX Senior Debt division. We are delighted to be involved in this deal to demonstrate how mezzanine finance can play a role in the rapidly evolving power sector. Congratulations to Charl and his team for running a super-efficient process, which allowed us to close this deal under a very tight timeframe. Allowed.”
Nick Van Zyl, CIO of Greenpoint Capital, said, “We are pleased to finalize this transaction with the support of the SolarAfrica team, whose progress we have followed over many years. We look forward to collaborating with Vantage Capital on this high-quality solar asset.”
Charl Alheit, CIO of SolarAfrica, said, “Vantage Capital and Greenpoint Capital have proven to be very innovative and efficient partners in enabling us to execute the acquisition of this portfolio from Inspired Evolution. Taking full control of the portfolio means we can continue to innovate by bringing more renewable energy solutions such as power wheeling to customers. This will be a great opportunity for C&I businesses as part of their green energy journey. Underscoring our commitment to making affordable, green electricity more accessible.”
Step Advisory acted as deal advisor to SolarAfrica on the transaction, Werxmans acted as legal advisor to Vantage. Other advisors on the transaction included Cresco, Ernst & Young, Weber Wentzel and SLR Consulting.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Vantage Capital Group.
For more information contact:
warren van der merwe
Managing Partner – Vantage Capital
warren@vantagecapital.co.za
+27(0)11 530 9100
Rochelle Ramdeni
Associate Partner – Vantage Capital
roshal@vantagemezzanine.com
abigail brews
Senior Partner – Vantage Capital
abigail@vantagecapital.co.za
About Vantage Capital:
Vantage Capital Group was founded in 2001 and is the largest independent pan-African mezzanine debt fund manager on the African continent. It has raised US$1.6 billion across seven different mezzanine and renewable energy debt funds as well as a technology fund and has made 66 investments to date across the African continent.
Vantage targets investment opportunities in over a dozen key African markets, focusing on mezzanine loans of US$10 – 50 million. Mezzanine debt is an intermediate form of risk capital, situated between senior debt, the lowest risk tranche of the capital structure, and equity, the highest risk. It combines elements of both debt and equity to provide companies with long-term funding on terms that are less dilutional to shareholders than pure equity.
Vantage recently launched an education investment platform targeting the education markets of Poland and Czechia.
Website: www.VantageCapital.co.za