Ara Partners Acquires a Majority Interest in Wattstor

LONDON, Feb. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wattstor, the fast-growing provider of automated carbon reduction and electricity cost-saving technology for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-market industrial and commercial (I&C) end users, is proud to announce a majority growth equity investment from Ara Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in industrial decarbonization investments. janom, Wattstor's main existing investor, will a retain a minority interest, reflecting its confidence in the business, management team and Ara's vision.

Headquartered in the UK and Czech Republic, Wattstor currently operates sites in the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland. The company plans to use the new funding to increase its European foothold, launch its Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) finance offering, boost R&D, and expand the team by more than 50% over the next year.

Wattstor was founded in 2013 in Cornwall, UK, where the company developed its first Energy Management System (EMS) for residential sites. janom, a Slovakian private equity investor, made a significant investment in 2017 to further R&D, kick-start the advancement into the second iteration of its EMS, its battery energy storage solution and pivoting the company towards the SME and mid-market I&C sectors. Wattstor soon gained traction with its revolutionary approach, building a reputation as a leader in these markets for simplifying sustainability and energy savings with their technology.

Stephan Marty, CEO at Wattstor, commented, "Wattstor is delighted to partner with Ara Partners, which is well aligned with our views on the market and arising opportunities. Ara's existing portfolio of investments is complementary to Wattstor's position in the market, and it will help us to deliver our simple-yet-sophisticated carbon reduction and cost-saving technology to I&C end-users across new regions as well as to launch a fully financed EaaS solution which will be a game changer for the adoption of behind-the-meter generation plus storage technologies. As the energy crisis in Europe has proven, the growth of renewable energy combined with generally higher and increasingly volatile electricity prices shows Wattstor's offering is needed more than ever. We are proud to be backed by an investor that is completely focused on its portfolio of sustainable enterprises, and we very much look forward to accelerating our growth plans over the coming months."

Myles O'Shaughnessy, Managing Director at Ara Partners, commented, "Wattstor provides a unique and highly compelling automated behind-the-meter solution allowing its I&C customers to reduce their carbon footprint and save on costs, while increasing energy security. Wattstor's offering is fully aligned with Ara's sustainability principles and our ongoing focus on proven technologies for sectors requiring investment to decarbonise. We are thrilled to partner with Stephan, the broader Wattstor team and Janom to further accelerate the already strong growth trajectory of the business, its people, technology and vision."

Ján Miškovský, Chairman of the board and owner at janom, commented: "We are delighted to establish a partnership with a strong investor such as Ara Partners. Our partial exit from Wattstor is a markable milestone on our journey, which started almost ten years ago. We believe the business will accelerate its growth using the synergies and experience of its shareholders and management and will benefit many customers worldwide."

Press Contacts:
Wattstor:
Abigail Hulls, Head of Marketing,
abigail@wattstor.com 07929 373484

Ara Partners:
Mark Semer / Alex Jeffrey
Gasthalter & Co.
212-257-4170
Arapartners@gasthalter.com 

About Wattstor

Wattstor empowers energy freedom. Businesses and communities are pushing for their energy to be more sustainable, less costly, and better optimised towards markets. Simple-yet-sophisticated flexible energy management technology is the key, Wattstor is the partner.

Wattstor is a pioneer in energy management systems. Our automated technology enables electricity end-users to harness the power of renewables, storage, load and EV charging to deliver carbon-reduction and cost savings. We do this through intelligent control of onsite distributed energy resources, ensuring the best ROI within grid constraints, and maximising participation in electricity markets, all without risk.

Website: https://wattstor.com/ 

About Ara Partners
Ara Partners is a private equity and infrastructure firm focused on industrial decarbonization investments. Ara Partners invests in the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency, green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors, seeking to create companies with significant decarbonization impact. It operates from offices in Houston, Boston and Dublin, Ireland. Ara Partners closed its second fund with approximately $1.1 billion in capital commitments in September 2021.

Website: https://www.arapartners.com/ 

About janom
janom is a private equity investor focused on development of renewable energy sources and venture and growth investments. We support innovative ventures in energy, software and sustainable development fields, such as companies Greenway, Voltia, Waycare (bought by Recor), Pohjoistuuli and others owned via our VC fund Straightforward Capital.

Since its foundation in 2008 we have successfully developed and operated dozens of megawatts of renewable capacity in Europe and supported a number of hi-tech companies since their early stages.

Website: https://janom.com/

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