EV fleet, storage firm Zenobe secures USD-750m investment from KKR

Global investment firm KKR (NYSE:KKR) said on Thursday it is investing USD 750 million (EUR 699.5m) in UK-based fleet electrification and grid-scale battery storage company Zenobe.

Zenobe said separately it has secured a GBP-600-million (USD 750m/EUR 700m) investment from KKR and an additional GBP 270 million of equity from existing shareholder Infracapital, M&G Plc’s infrastructure equity investment arm. KKR and Infracapital will become joint majority shareholders when the deal closes, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The capital infusion is intended to scale the business in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

“KKR provides Zenobe with a leading international strategic partner to support our expansion plans into North America, Europe and Australasia and other markets. It supports our ability to raise further debt funding for these plans,” said Zenobe co-founder and director Nicholas Beatty.

Zenobe marks the first investment in KKR’s global climate strategy. “This is a rare opportunity to support a clear leader in transport decarbonisation and battery storage, two sectors which are critical in driving the transition to a net-zero world,” said Alberto Signori, partner in KKR’s European Infrastructure team.

Zenobe currently has 230 employees globally and supports more than 1,000 electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles. The company aims to increase this number to 4,000 by 2026. Zenobe also aims to commission around 1.2 GW of battery storage in the UK by 2026 and to develop an additional 2.5 GW of battery assets in North America and Australia by 2030.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.933)

(GBP 1 = USD 1.248/EUR 1.166)

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