20.10.2016
[Munich, ] A team from GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB, headed by Munich partner Dr. Bernt Paudtke, advised a consortium of current investors comprising eCAPITAL, Munich Venture Partners, SET Ventures and Inven Capital, in carrying out a new round of financing worth EUR 76 million at the sonnen Group.
Alongside eCAPITAL, Munich Venture Partners, SET Ventures, Inven Capital and recent entrant GE Ventures, all previous investors in sonnen also participated in this round of financing. Very recently, the international technology group Envision Energy joined in, as did Thomas Pütter, one of the leading investors in renewable energy and previously CEO and chairman of Allianz Capital Partners. Both now have a minority stake in the business.
Sonnen develops and produces sonnenBatterie, the intelligent battery system. The funds, raised as share capital, will be used by sonnen to strengthen the progress of its dynamic growth in Germany and in international markets. This will involve the further development of new products such as sonnenCommunity and sonnenFlat, expansion of the sales network in Germany and further expansion of the business in the USA, Australia, the UK and Italy.
eCAPITAL, based in Münster, is a venture capital company that supports innovative entrepreneurs in promising industries of the future. The company is one of the leading venture capital investors in Germany and has been providing support for active innovative entrepreneurs in promising sectors since 1999. Its focus is on fast-growing companies in the software/IT, industry 4.0 sectors, the cleantech sector and in new materials. eCAPITAL currently administers six funds with a subscribed capital of over EUR 160 million and invests in companies at the early to later stages. In the current round, eCAPITAL is investing via its Fund IV, which was launched at the beginning of 2016.
Inven Capital is an independent venture capital fund set up by the ČEZ Group, a significant European energy supply business. Inven Capital’s strategy involves finding new investment opportunities across Europe in the field of small, innovative cleantech companies. It focuses primarily on investment opportunities in companies in later-stage growth phases with a business model supported by sales and with significant long-term growth potential.
Munich Venture Partners is a risk capital provider with investments focusing on the cleantech and green ICT sectors. Munich Venture Partners concentrates on risk capital for high-tech start-up companies with growth-orientated and profitable projects, and its involvement is focused on European and selected international investments. Munich Venture Partners is one of the largest cleantech venture capital specialists in Germany.
SET Venture, from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, invests in European (energy) companies that offer unique clean energy technologies, products or services. All companies financed by SET Venture are working on shifting current energy production, with its traditional consumption of fossil fuels, into areas of generation, distribution and consumption using energy sources of the future that are sustainable and resource-efficient.
Advisors of eCAPITAL, Munich Ventures Partners, SET Ventures and Inven Capital
GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB, Munich
Dr. Bernt Paudtke, Partner
Dr. Christian Schröder, Counsel
Dr. Christian Bürger, Associated Partner
Dr. Christian Glauer, Associate
