Opus Corporate Finance LLP advises Bain Capital and Cinven on their joint acquisition of Lonza Specialty Ingredients (“LSI”), a division of Lonza AG, for a total enterprise value of CHF 4.2 billion.

Opus is pleased to have advised Bain Capital and Cinven on entering into a definitive agreement to acquire LSI, a world-leading provider of specialty chemicals for microbial control solutions, used to eliminate or control harmful and unwanted micro-organisms. LSI’s products are critical ingredients in disinfectants, preservatives, sanitisers, personal care products, as well as coatings and other industrial uses. LSI also offers the custom development and manufacturing of specialty chemicals and composites for electronics, aerospace, food and agrochemical industries.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, LSI has approximately 2,800 employees, 11 R&D centres and 17 manufacturing sites across the world serving circa 5,300 customers.

The transaction is expected to close in H2 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

This is another market leading transaction and a significant milestone in the development of Opus’ Chemicals franchise.

For further information please contact: Chris Carlisle, Keegan Harris and Joanna Chen.

Opus Corporate Finance LLP advises AEA Investors LP (“AEA”) on its acquisition of Verdesian Life Sciences (“Verdesian”) which closed in February 2021.

Opus is delighted to have advised AEA on their successful acquisition of Verdesian, a leading US agrochemicals platform that develops patented biological, nutritional, fertilizer enhancers, seed treatment and inoculant technologies for high-value specialty crops, row crops, and turf and ornamental markets. Verdesian’s products promote sustainable agricultural practices by improving nutrient uptake and reducing the need for conventional chemicals.

This is a market leading transaction and an exciting step in the development of Opus’ Chemicals franchise.

For further information please contact: Chris Carlisle and Keegan Harris.

Opus is pleased to have advised Eelpower in connection with establishing a new partnership with Switzerland-based infrastructure investment firm SUSI Partners to build a significant position in the UK grid-connected, battery storage market. The transaction involved the sale to SUSI of 40MW of Eelpower’s existing electricity storage assets, and the establishment of a partnership to construct and operate a pipeline of new build assets. The transaction also included the acquisition of the first pipeline asset, a 50MW battery project located in Scotland. Eelpower will manage all the assets in the venture and act as the focal point for new investment. Each of the assets will benefit from innovative off-take contracts with major UK utilities, including Centrica.

This is a market leading transaction and a further example of Opus’s expertise relating to the energy transition. It follows the recent announcement of the sale of DEXMA, a SaaS based energy management software business to Nemetschek AG.

For further information please contact: John McElroy, Stuart Schofield, Michael Mizon and Thalia Ilsen Nunn.

Opus Corporate Finance is delighted to have advised the shareholders of DEXMA on its sale to the Nemetschek Group. Nemetschek, headquartered in Munich, is one of the world’s leading software providers for the architecture, engineering, construction, and building operations (AECO) industry. DEXMA is a fast-growing provider of innovative SaaS solutions with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for energy data management used by over 4,000 customers in 30 countries worldwide. With its SaaS solution, facility and property managers, energy services providers, and consultants can optimize their energy transition and reach their sustainability goals, such as lowering the carbon footprint of their buildings. Companies can report building energy consumption from HVAC, lighting and other sources, analyse usage patterns to identify inefficiencies, and detect anomalies in real time. DEXMA’s products also analyse other building related data such as the increasingly important area of air quality. The company, which employs 45 people, has its headquarters in Barcelona and its clients include companies such as Ferrovial, Naturgy, Comsa Corporación, Enel X, Engie, Norlys, SMS, and Emerson.

This is an important transaction for Opus bringing together our expertise in Sustainability with our focuses on Industrial Technologies and the Built Environment.

For further information please contact: John McElroy, Stuart Schofield and Colin Christie.

Opus is delighted to have advised Pensions Infrastructure Platform (‘PiP’) on its agreed sale to Foresight Group (‘Foresight’).

PiP is a UK infrastructure asset manager with a NAV of over £700m and a portfolio of 17 assets across the Renewable Energy, Social and Transport sectors. It is backed by UK pension schemes including British Airways, Pension Protection Fund, Railpen and local government pension schemes Strathclyde and West Midlands. The transaction, which is expected to complete in approximately one month, will provide greater resources for PiP and wider infrastructure exposure for Foresight.

John McElroy, Stuart Schofield, Malcolm Strang and Joanna Chen advised on the transaction, combining Opus’ strong track record in the Sustainability sector with its broad financial services experience.

Opus has advised Carbon Clean Solutions (“CCSL”) on raising additional growth capital from two new investors: Equinor Ventures and ICOS Capital. They join WAVE Equity Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Marubeni Corporation who invested in February. This brings the total raised in this Series B round to $22m.

CCSL is a global leader in low-cost carbon dioxide (CO2) separation technology. The investment will be used to grow the team, deliver pipeline projects and continue the development of containerised solutions to achieve $30/tonne cost of CO2 capture by 2021.

Stuart Schofield, John McElroy and Michael Mizon advised on the transaction, building further on Opus’ strong track record in the Sustainability sector.

Opus has advised Carbon Clean Solutions (“CCSL”) on raising $16m of growth capital from three global investors: WAVE Equity Partners, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Marubeni Corporation.

CCSL is a global leader in low-cost carbon dioxide (CO2) separation technology.  The investment will be used to deliver an existing pipeline of global projects to lower emissions from industry. CCSL will also invest in the development of containerised solutions to achieve $30/tonne cost of CO2 capture by 2021.

Stuart Schofield, John McElroy and Michael Mizon advised on the transaction, building further on Opus’ strong track record in the Sustainability sector. Other recent transactions include advising the shareholders of Breathe Energy on its sale to EDF’s Imtech, AgilityEco’s partnership with Bridges, and the sale of ChargePoint Services to Engie.

Opus has advised the shareholders of Breathe Energy (‘Breathe’) on its sale to Imtech, a leading UK technical services engineering business owned by EDF.

Breathe is a provider of Energy Performance Contracts, delivering innovative engineering solutions to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, and improve built environments. It has successfully delivered projects worth over £120m since establishment in 2010 and currently generates over 50,000 tonnes of CO2 savings for its customers every year.

Stuart Schofield and Michael Mizon advised on the transaction, building further on Opus’ strong track record in the Sustainability sector. Recent transactions include advising AgilityEco on its partnership with Bridges, Opus partner Richard Morse advising Pivot Power in connection with its sale to EDF, and advising ChargePoint Services on its sale to Engie.

Opus is delighted to have advised AgilityEco on the sale of a significant minority stake to Bridges Evergreen, a long-term capital vehicle managed by Bridges Fund Management.

AgilityEco is a leader in low carbon, energy efficiency and fuel poverty services. It is a mission-led business that plans, manages and delivers innovative energy efficiency and related services to give support to fuel-poor households, working closely with utility companies, local authorities, housing providers and charities. The partnership with Bridges Evergreen will enable AgilityEco to scale its services quickly and deliver more social impact to fuel poor and vulnerable households across the UK.

Stuart Schofield and Joe Roberts advised on the transaction, building further on Opus’ strong track record in the Sustainability sector.

Opus has advised SPS Technology, a company formed for the purpose, on the acquisition of the business and assets of Intelligent Engineering Holdings. This included restructuring $75m of debt. SPS is a structural composite construction material comprising two metal plates bonded with an elastomer core.  The material is used in a wide variety of civil and maritime applications including in the London Olympic Stadium and the new USTA Flushing Meadow Grandstand in New York. SPS is much simpler than stiffened steel plate and lighter and faster to erect than reinforced concrete leading to materially reduced construction time frames, carbon footprint and costs. It is also fully reusable. This is an important transaction for the Opus Sustainability team expanding our experience into advanced materials.

For further information please contact John McElroy or Joe Roberts.