ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unirac, Inc. (“Unirac” or the “Company”), a leading designer and manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting solutions for the residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) markets, announced today a majority recapitalization investment led by Greenbelt Capital Partners (“Greenbelt”). Investors in the transaction included Greenbelt Capital Partners Unirac L.P. and Trilantic Energy Partners II (North America) L.P. and its parallel fund. The existing sponsor, Tenex Capital Management, along with key members of Unirac’s management team, will continue to own a significant stake in the business.
Founded in 1999 in Albuquerque, NM, and with over 1,500,000 of distributed generation installations, Unirac is a pioneer in the North American solar industry. Since its acquisition by Tenex in 2016, Unirac has built a market-leading, fully integrated, one-stop-shop solar mounting solutions platform. Unirac’s commitment to product innovation, installation efficiency and a superior customer experience has helped solidify its position as the leading provider of solar racking and mounting solutions to the U.S. residential and C&I market.
Peter Lorenz, CEO of Unirac, said, “We are incredibly proud of the business we have built and the meaningful product and service innovations the Unirac team has brought to our customers. In 2019, we implemented a program called ‘Better Solar Starts Here.’ This program puts our customers’ success at the center of everything we do at Unirac.”
This investment will support Unirac’s continued pursuit of new product development and supply chain resiliency, further bolstering the Company’s broad and innovative product portfolio. Unirac products offer solutions for every environment, roof material, project design and installation type, and have outsized impacts on ease of installation relative to cost.
Chris Murphy, Partner at Greenbelt, said, “We are excited to partner with Unirac’s executive team and Tenex to combine our significant experience in the solar and broader distributed energy sectors and support the continued growth of Unirac, which has consistently differentiated itself from the competition to become a leader in the space.”
The adoption of residential and C&I solar has been underpinned by strong secular tailwinds, including changing consumer preferences, the decreasing cost of solar, and recent legislation that provides a 10-year Investment Tax Credit (ITC) extension at 30%. The U.S. residential and C&I markets are significant but remain underpenetrated with solar installed in only ~5% of viable homes and even fewer C&I sites. Unirac products provide customers with faster and easier installations, resulting in savings on monthly energy bills while also reducing carbon footprints and reliance on the grid.
Sam Graham, Principal at Greenbelt, added, “The energy landscape is rapidly evolving as residential and C&I property owners rethink patterns of consumption and strive to gain energy resilience and independence. Following the Inflation Reduction Act’s extension of the ITC, we expect to see accelerated adoption of rooftop solar, which will help further bolster Unirac’s market position.”
Gabe Wood, Managing Director of Tenex Capital Management, said, “Tenex is excited to partner with Greenbelt and Trilantic for this next chapter of growth. We believe our experience with and knowledge of both Unirac and the solar racking industry will continue to provide valuable insights and further enhance Unirac’s market leadership position.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Greenbelt and Trilantic in relation to the transaction. Cowen and Lazard served as financial advisors to Unirac in relation to the transaction and Koley Jessen PC, LLO acted as legal counsel.
About Unirac
A pioneer in solar racking, Unirac has been North America’s leading manufacturer of solar PV mounting systems for over two decades. The premier U.S. solar racking manufacturer with products that outlive their warranties, Unirac has more than 10GW of experience and over 1,500,000 installations that back up their engineering service and supply-chain excellence. Unirac is committed to being a partner throughout the full project lifecycle. At Unirac, Better Solar Starts Here. Learn more at www.unirac.com.
About Greenbelt Capital Partners
Greenbelt Capital Partners is a growth-oriented middle-market private equity firm focused on control and significant minority investments ranging from late-stage growth equity to private equity to infrastructure development across the energy sector. The Greenbelt investment team recently spun out of Trilantic North America and continues to serve as advisors to Trilantic North America and its managed funds. The senior team at Greenbelt has committed approximately $4.6 billion of equity capital to multiple portfolio companies and consummated more than $58 billion of M&A and financings in over 210 transactions across the portfolio. For more information, visit www.greenbeltcapital.com.
About Trilantic North America
Trilantic Capital Management L.P. (“Trilantic North America”) is a growth-focused middle market private equity firm focused on control and significant minority investments in North America. Trilantic North America focuses on investments in the business services and consumer sectors. Trilantic North America has managed six private equity fund families with aggregate capital commitments of $9.7 billion. For more information visit www.Trilantic.com.
About Tenex Capital Management
Tenex Capital Management is a private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies. Tenex uses an in-house team of hybrid investment professionals skilled in operational leadership, investing and capital markets structuring to maximize long-term value creation. Tenex’s deep operating experience allows the firm to collaborate with management teams to capitalize on business and market opportunities. For more information, visit www.tenexcm.com.
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