H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G."), a leading global private equity investment
firm with more than $17 billion of equity capital under management, is
pleased to announce that its portfolio company Comverge, a leading
provider of demand response, energy efficiency and customer engagement
solutions, together with Constellation, a leading competitive retail
supplier of power, natural gas and energy products, have combined their
demand response businesses serving commercial & industrial (“C&I”)
customers. The combined business, named CPower, is headquartered in
Baltimore, Md., and will operate as a new, standalone company
independent from Comverge and Constellation. CPower, like its
predecessor companies, will continue to deliver a full spectrum of
demand response offerings to C&I customers across the United States. The
combination creates one of the largest demand response companies in
North America.
H.I.G. holds a majority ownership interest in CPower, and Constellation
holds a minority ownership interest and will remain an important
business partner to CPower. Former Comverge Chief Financial Officer John
Horton will serve as President and CEO of CPower.
“Demand response is a proven resource that helps contribute to a more
reliable grid, and we are significantly increasing our investment in
this business to make sure we remain a strong force in the industry and
continue to exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Horton. “The
leaders of CPower have helped thousands of C&I customers optimize their
participation in demand response programs, providing them with a new
source of revenue that can have a significant impact on their bottom
line.”
“This transaction creates a market leading company in the demand
response industry with scale, differentiated capabilities and a solid
foundation for growth,” said Brian Schwartz, an Executive Managing
Director of H.I.G. “We look forward to partnering with the CPower
management team as they grow the business and continue to provide
excellent service to our customers.”
Comverge will now focus exclusively on delivering world class solutions
to help electric utilities deploy successful demand response, energy
efficiency and customer engagement programs targeting residential and
small business customers.
About Comverge
Comverge provides an integrated set of demand response, energy
efficiency and customer engagement solutions that enable electric
utilities to ensure grid reliability, lower energy costs, meet
regulatory demands and enhance the customer experience. Through its
combination of software, hardware and services, Comverge helps utilities
optimize the management of every aspect of an energy management program,
from participant recruitment and device installation to call center
support, control events, and measurement and verification. Comverge has
worked with hundreds of electric utilities to deploy nearly six million
energy management devices and enroll more than 1.6 million residential
customers into mass-market demand management programs. For more
information, visit www.comverge.com.
About Constellation
Constellation is a leading competitive retail supplier of power, natural
gas and energy products and services for homes and businesses across the
continental United States. Constellation's family of retail businesses
serves more than 2.5 million residential, public sector and business
customers, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100.
Baltimore-based Constellation is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation
(NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with 2013
revenues of approximately $24.9 billion, and more than 35,000 megawatts
of owned capacity comprising one of the nation's cleanest and
lowest-cost power generation fleets. Learn more at www.constellation.com
or on Twitter at @ConstellationEG.
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with
more than $17 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in
Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York,
and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as international affiliate
offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro,
H.I.G. specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized
companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in
management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well
managed manufacturing or service businesses. H.I.G. also has extensive
experience with financial restructurings and operational turnarounds.
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than
200 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than
80 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more
information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.
* Based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. Capital
and its affiliates
Copyright Business Wire 2014