Fusion Corporate Partners

Environmental business intelligence business FirstCarbon Solutions has acquired the utility optimisation practice of The Plan Consulting Group (TPCG), a full service strategic management and consulting firm that assists companies in their efforts to measure and manage utilities, waste and spending and create measurable value.

Jim Beall, former CEO of The Plan Consulting Group, joins FirstCarbon Solutions as Senior Vice President and will continue to lead The Plan Consulting Group as a member of the ADEC Group of Companies. TPCG will continue to specialise in strategy consulting and program management. Prior to The Plan Consulting Group, Mr. Beall held a variety of senior management and business development positions with CB Richard Ellis, EMCOR Group, and Johnson Controls. TPCG provides clients with strategy development and revenue expansion programs in order to increase efficiencies and decrease costs. TPCG will continue to provide services to Kraft Foods, Trane Corporation and Cummins, among others.

The acquisition of TCPG will enable FirstCarbon Solutions to further enhance return on investment for its clients by driving energy optimisation programs and delivering measurable cost savings. Although the trend to become sustainable has increased dramatically, many companies still have difficulty identifying, justifying and implementing sustainability programs due to the burden it places on internal resources and capital constraints. Combining energy process and tools of TPCG, FirstCarbon Solutions enhances its performance-based return on investment driven sustainability solutions.

“Our acquisition of The Plan Consulting Group broadens our offering and more closely links sustainability initiatives with bottom line impacts,” said Jim Donovan, CEO, FirstCarbon Solutions. “Companies have long struggled to define ROI and the implementation of energy management programs. In addition to helping clients make an environmental difference, FirstCarbon Solutions will continue to help companies be competitive, efficient and profitable.”

USA, West Chester, PA

Johnson Controls has signed a merger agreement with EnergyConnect Group under which Johnson Controls will acquire the outstanding shares of the company. The transaction is expected to close in July.

EnergyConnect Group is a provider of smart grid demand response services and technologies. The acquisition of EnergyConnect will position Johnson Controls’ Building Efficiency business as a demand response leader in the large commercial, industrial and institutional markets.  EnergyConnect’s demand response technology and service platform provides energy managers and facility operators real-time energy information and access to energy markets, enabling them to control their energy spend.  The combination of energy efficiency, smart building technologies and demand response services creates an additional platform for growth in a rapidly growing segment of the energy market.

“As our customers continue to demand more sophisticated capabilities to manage their energy costs, integrating demand response services with energy efficiency makes EnergyConnect and Johnson Controls Building Efficiency a natural fit,” said C. David Myers, vice president, Johnson Controls and president, Building Efficiency. “Coupling EnergyConnect’s expertise in demand response with Johnson Controls’ strength in smart building technologies would enable us to expand our offerings and help our customers better manage their overall energy spend.”

“We are excited about the prospects of joining forces with Johnson Controls,” said Kevin Evans, president and Chief Executive Officer of EnergyConnect.  “In addition to the natural synergies in our businesses, the Johnson Controls’ global footprint and distribution channels would enable us to accelerate the transformation of electricity use in response to market prices while enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the grid.”

USA, Milwaukee, WI

Powerit Solutions has completed a new round of financing with a $5 million investment from five funds. Black Coral Capital, a fund focused on the cleantech sector, led the round as a new investor; the other four were existing investors from prior rounds.

Powerit Solutions is a Seattle-based international cleantech company that plugs energy-intensive businesses into the smart grid. Powerit’s Spara technology enables users to automatically increase energy efficiency, cut peak-rate usage, participate in demand response programs, and respond to dynamic pricing advantageously—without compromising quality, production, or comfort.

“Powerit Solutions’ Spara technology is a valuable tool for smart grid connectivity, as we see in their work with Auto-DR, for example,” says Rob Day of Black Coral Capital. “Unlike a lot of smart grid companies that just have good ideas, Powerit’s ideas have become products that are already producing real benefits from the smart grid—customers are reducing their electricity bills and increasing operational efficiency.”

“Powerit is an established leader in energy management, with active installations operating around the world,” Day continues. “And we think Spara’s flexible technology will integrate well with partner services and products. That will help build Powerit’s value.”

USA, Seattle, WA

Transphorm has completed a $20 million Series C financing led by Google Ventures, with participation from existing venture investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital and Lux Capital. This brings the total capital raised from all rounds to $38 million.

The company delivers custom-designed power modules that are easy to embed in virtually any electrical system, from consumer electronics products, to industrial motor drives, to inverters for solar panels and electric vehicles, and sells these modules to power equipment manufacturers. Transphorm was founded by Founded by Umesh Mishra and Primit Parikh,

“We founded Transphorm to re-imagine what enhanced efficiency in the generation and use of electrical energy can do for our economy,” said Umesh Mishra, CEO of Transphorm. “Why put up with needless energy waste in every electrical system and device, when we can quickly and cost-effectively design products that are inherently energy efficient? Transphorm’s next-generation power modules cut waste, increase efficiency, reduce system size and simplify overall product design.”

The company will unveil its first product at the upcoming APEC conference.

USA, Mountain View, CA

Technology investor Silver Lake is launching Silver Lake Kraftwerk, a new investment strategy focused on providing growth capital to business innovators in the energy and resource sectors. Soros Fund Management LLC will join Silver Lake as a strategic partner in the new initiative, which will be led by Adam Grosser, an investment veteran who served for a decade as a General Partner at Foundation Capital.

Operating out of offices in Silicon Valley and China, the new strategy will invest in companies that leverage technology and business model innovation to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and emissions, harness renewable energy, and more efficiently use natural resources, among other applications.

“We are excited to launch Silver Lake’s fourth investment strategy, this one focused on the energy and resource sectors, where we will target growth stage companies with proven technologies and business models,” said Greg Mondre, a Silver Lake Managing Director and member of the investment committee for the new business.

“There are many parallels between the development of the technology sector and the innovation that is occurring in the energy and resource sectors today. We have been actively planning our expansion for some time, and believe that Adam Grosser’s formidable expertise and vision combined with Silver Lake’s global investment platform will offer the companies we invest in a compelling partner to grow their businesses, both in developed and emerging markets.”

Mr. Mondre added: “Our goal with this new initiative is to match Silver Lake’s established leadership in large cap and middle market technology investing with a new strategy we believe will drive growth around the world in coming decades.”

USA, Menlo Park, CA

Energy efficiency company Octus is acquiring Élan Energy Corp. and Sunarias Corporation from Alternative Energy Partners (AEGY). The acquisition is exchange for common shares of Octus. AEGY previously acquired Élan Energy Corp. and its operating subsidiary, R.L.P. Mechanical Contractors, Inc., in a transaction with a stated value of $5 million, and acquired Sunarias in a transaction with a stated value of $2 million.

Octus is a building energy efficiency company that provides services to reduce the utility costs of commercial and institutional buildings through energy-efficient lighting, HVAC and water management systems and products. Clients include ARCO, Bank of America, Blockbuster, Chevron, Delta Airlines, Frito Lay, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, Ikea, Nabisco, Pepsi, Petco, Safeway, Sears, Siemens, and University of California.

In addition, Octus has agreed with Lin Han Equity Corporation to transfer majority ownership of Octus to Lin Han, in exchange for common stock in privately-held Healthcare of Today, Inc., and working capital to fund Octus’s growth strategy.

“The addition of Élan Energy, a proven, profitable and vibrant HVAC and refrigeration efficiency contractor, immediately boosts Octus’s financial strength, customer offerings and market reach,” said Octus CEO Chris Soderquist. “Market demand for combined energy and water-saving solutions, coupled with utility company rebates and project financing, has increased steadily in the last few months and these transactions will enable Octus to aggressively pursue existing and new business opportunities.”

As part of the transaction, the existing business operations of Octus will be transferred to a new, wholly-owned subsidiary operating company, and Octus will become a public holding company for its operating subsidiaries, providing administrative and related services to the entire corporate group.

Both transactions are expected to close by March 15, 2011.

USA, Davis, CA