Energy Exemplar to be Acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Energy Exemplar, a leading global provider of energy market simulation software, today announced it has agreed to be acquired by private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone (”Blackstone”) and Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”). With the backing of Blackstone and Vista, Energy Exemplar gains new resources to help accelerate growth and drive platform innovation in support of grid reliability and the energy transition.

“We are tremendously excited about this partnership and how it will accelerate our investment in our leading SaaS platform providing accurate simulation and decision support for our customers in today’s rapidly changing energy landscape,” said David Wilson, CEO of Energy Exemplar. “The combination of Blackstone and Vista brings a unique level of expertise in both the energy and software industries which will continue to propel Energy Exemplar as the go-to solution for the energy transition for all our clients around the world who are leading this charge.”

Energy market participants worldwide rely on Energy Exemplar’s platform to optimize decision-making across both new asset development and existing operations. Utilities, power producers, grid system operators, and others in the energy transition ecosystem use the software to forecast market operations, drive long-term investments, and optimize ongoing operations across their assets and systems. Energy Exemplar’s solutions offer best-in-class functionality, allowing users to model and understand the increasingly complex energy transition landscape in a single unified platform. Energy Exemplar has grown at 30% CAGR since 2018 and currently serves over 500 customers in 79 countries.

"Energy Exemplar is an established category leader with outsized growth potential in a rapidly evolving global energy market," said Ryan Atlas, Managing Director at Vista Equity Partners. "Its platform provides a holistic view of the impact traditional and emerging energy systems have on the businesses of those leading the energy transition. Together with Blackstone, we look forward to partnering with David and the executive team, leveraging our experience in scaling transformative enterprise software companies to further accelerate innovation and customer value."

Bilal Khan, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, added: “We’re thrilled to be backing Energy Exemplar, a mission-critical software provider supporting the growth of renewable energy, battery storage, and transmission grid investment required for the energy transition. Blackstone’s energy market expertise and network of connections can enhance the company’s growth trajectory. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Vista, David, and the management team to drive the next stage of development for Energy Exemplar and its technology solutions supporting grid reliability and decarbonization. This investment is the latest in a series demonstrating Blackstone’s conviction in the energy transition.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel, and William Blair served as financial advisor to Blackstone and Vista. Lazard acted as sole financial advisor, and Jones Day and Herbert Smith Freehills served as legal counsel to Energy Exemplar.

About Energy Exemplar

Energy Exemplar is a market leader in the technology of optimization-based energy market simulation. Our cloud software suite, headlined by PLEXOS® and Aurora, is used across every region of the world for a wide range of applications, from short-term analysis to long-term planning studies. It is relied upon by hundreds of organizations worldwide to inform multi-million-dollar decisions. Our people continually think of novel approaches and more realistic simulations that enhance decision making, create market opportunities and enable utilities and regulatory authorities to become smarter, more energy efficient and profitable. Energy Exemplar continues to ‘push the envelope,’ being first-to-market with the latest advances in programming and energy market simulations, as it strives to offer the most comprehensive Energy Analytics Platform to its customer base.

Blackstone Energy Transition Partners

Blackstone Energy Transition Partners is Blackstone's energy-focused private equity business, a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record, having invested over $21 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs and generate lasting value for our investors, employees and all stakeholders.

About Vista Equity Partners

Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $101 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista's investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.

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