Dive Brief:
- Global real estate services company JLL has completed an acquisition of renewable energy banking firm Javelin Capital, JLL announced Monday. The details of the acquisition were not immediately disclosed, but JLL expects the transaction “to close shortly” after it obtains regulatory approval, according to the press release.
- Javelin Capital offers mergers and acquisition, restructuring, capital raising, debt and corporate finance services for the clean energy sector. The renewable energy investment bank will join JLL’s capital markets division for the Americas, under Mark Gibson, the March 24 release said.
- JLL said it was acquiring Javelin Capital because it sees “unprecedented growth” in the clean energy sector and the acquisition will “significantly enhance” the company’s capabilities in the U.S. energy and infrastructure markets and complement its expertise in Europe and Asia.
Dive Insight:
JLL, a Fortune 500 real estate and investment management company, has previously executed more than 150 deals and has participated in transactions worth $20 billion in Europe and Asia’s energy and infrastructure capital markets, according to the release. The commercial real estate firm said the new deal positions the company “to serve as a globally connected capital advisor in energy and infrastructure” and service large infrastructure investors.
JLL said its research arm has found that clean energy is becoming the “most cost-effective choice of fuel” as regions around the world are deploying more renewable energy. This “surge in activity” has created the right equation for JLL to expand its offerings in the energy and infrastructure markets, according to the company.
“Welcoming Javelin Capital to the JLL team expands our ability to guide clients with end-to-end support through the clean energy transition,” JLL Capital Markets CEO Richard Bloxam said in the release. “This acquisition allows us to help clients realize the advantages of renewable, clean energy.”
The growth in the renewable energy sector has been fueled by “increasing demand, tightening regulations, technological advancements and the compelling economics of renewable energy,” JLL said in the release. Because of the sector’s growth, the firm sees opportunity in the market for companies like Javelin Capital, with expertise in raising capital and providing advisory services for project financing and companies on the buy-side and sell-side.
The New York City-headquartered Javelin Capital was founded in 2017 and has 16 employees and a Chicago office. The investment firm focuses on renewable energy, storage and green chemistry projects, as well as the energy transition more broadly, according to its website. Javelin Capital has since acquired a solar and storage portfolio with 2.4 gigawatts of capacity through a bankruptcy sale and a 27 megawatt solar project so far in the first quarter of this year.
Javelin Capital Founder and Managing Partner Jason Segal said the company is looking forward to joining JLL to collectively expand the companies’ reach in the sectors. Javelin Capital CEO and Managing Director Matt Eastwick added that the firm “will be able to provide clients with our domain expertise in the energy transition, driving to shape a greener future of spaces for the built environment."
The acquisition is JLL’s first of this year, according to the company’s acquisition history, and comes a few months after the real estate firm established an U.S. energy advisory and sustainability practice in January. This practice provides engineering, finance and procurement, energy modeling, project and program management advising, to help companies meet their sustainability goals.
