EFG Hermes PE arm hits $200m first close for Vortex renewables raise, targets $750m final close within two years

Vortex, a renewable energy platform managed by the private equity arm of Egypt’s biggest investment bank, EFG Hermes, has held a first close for its fourth fund on $200m.

The unit is targeting a $750m final close within the next two years. Investments for the vehicle so far were led by EFG Hermes and Abu Dhabi sovereign institutional investors and family offices.

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Vortex Energy IV will target renewable energy generation, storage, EV charging facilities and energy services including operating plants, development companies and industrial solutions providers. It will be investing in North America, Latin America, Europe and Australia.

Established in 2015, Vortex has invested €500m of equity and divested 822 MWs of energy assets in Europe. The firm said market sentiment is “highly supportive” of the asset class, adding that it still sees “a wide range of investment opportunities catering the growing demand for sustainability and 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; 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 around 2TW and investments of around $3tn by 2030 globally.

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. We are also excited to continue building our business and investor base to reach our 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 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. With our skill set and experience, I am confident that we have the tools in place to gain a further foothold in the industry. We are already looking at a very interesting pipeline of deals and companies worth around $2bn in Europe and the US”.

Recent dealmaking from Vortex includes selling its controlling and managing stake in its 365MW solar PV portfolio Vortex Solar at a £500m enterprise value.

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