Clearwater has advised the shareholders of C4 Energie AG (C4 Energie) and related companies, an independent leading biogas service provider with commercial and operational plant management and own installed base in Germany, on the sale to a consortium consisting of Transition Evergreen SA (Transition Evergreen), the first listed investment fund in France dedicated to the ecological transition; Evergaz, a major player in anaerobic digestion in France; and Eiffel Investment Group SAS (Eiffel Investment Group), a French asset management company with an important focus on financing the ecological transition and impact investment.
Headquartered in Kiel, Germany, C4 Energie develops, finances, and operates biogas and biomass plants at an industrial level. The company uses the potential of domestic renewable raw materials and is one of the quality leading biogas plant service providers in Germany, with currently 12 state-of-the-art biogas plants under contract. C4 Energie generates renewable, decentralised and base-load capable energy. The group defines itself as a modern technology company whose actions are decisively characterised by ecological responsibility and economic efficiency. Thanks to C4 Energie’s experienced staff and project partners, C4 Energie can look back on numerous successfully completed biogas and biogas feed-in projects and have set standards, with sustainable and comprehensive heat utilisation concepts.
Transition Evergreen holds stakes in unlisted French companies that make the ecological transition the vector of their growth. The fund invests in biogas, energy efficiency, sustainable forest management, low-carbon mobility, responsible catering, and eco-designed packaging. The holding company considers environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria which are continuously monitored and has the objective of sustainable investment. Transition Evergreen aims to contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions and targets companies with more than 50% of their turnover coming from an economic activity eligible for the European taxonomy including companies that are low carbon-intensive, contribute to the net-zero emissions economy by 2050 or enable other activities to reduce their CO2 emissions.
Created in 2008 under the name Holding Verte, Evergaz is a major player in anaerobic digestion in France, based on three areas of expertise: consultancy for anaerobic digestion projects, project development, ownership, and long-term operation of territorial anaerobic digestion units. Evergaz owns and operates several anaerobic digestion units which treat organic waste and transform it into renewable energy – heat, electricity, or natural gas. The remaining solid part, i.e., the digestate, forms a natural fertiliser that can be spread in fields. Therefore, everything is recovered, which is consistent with the territorial circular economy. Evergaz uses its expertise to develop and operate these anaerobic digestion projects, in partnership with the public and private stakeholders of the territories concerned. By combining the roles of investor and operator, Evergaz has gained a unique position in the French anaerobic digestion market.
Eiffel Investment Group is an asset management firm and a leader in business financing. The group addresses the funding needs of European SMEs and midcaps across their entire capital structure. It stands as a major investor in the renewable gas sector through a dedicated infrastructure fund.
With Transition Evergreen, Evergaz and Eiffel Investment Group, C4 Energie has found strong partners with profound expertise in the European biogas industry to jointly exploit the great opportunities that the German biogas market offers in the electrical system services, fuel (biomethane filling stations) and heat market sectors. The transaction enables C4 Energie to further expand their profitable biogas plant park in order to shape sustainable contributions to decarbonisation and thus to the energy transition.
