Colorado-Based Energy Investors Vision Ridge Partners, ZOMA Capital
Provide a Combined $130 Million Investment Via Equity and a Mezzanine
Financing Facility
Guzman Energy Group (“Guzman Energy”)—a full-service energy company
whose services include providing wholesale power, energy trading and
hedging services—announced today that it has secured $130 million in
additional liquidity to continue to expand its efforts to deliver
cheaper and greener energy to consumers in the West and beyond.
Experienced energy investors Vision Ridge Partners and ZOMA Capital are
providing the capital.
The energy landscape in the United States is rapidly evolving to a
renewable, distributed future. Guzman Energy is playing a leading role
in bringing this future forward in the bilateral markets of the West,
while at the same time significantly lowering prices, particularly in
rural communities.
“We are very pleased to have Vision Ridge Partners and ZOMA Capital join
us as partners,” said Leo Guzman, Chairman and CEO of Guzman Energy.
“Not only do their respective investments in the company represent a
tremendous validation of our leadership position to bring about change,
but their strategic insights, deep relationships and significant
resources will play an important role in Guzman Energy reaching its full
potential.”
In aggregate, both new investors will hold a minority interest in Guzman
Energy, and representatives from Vision Ridge and ZOMA will join the
Guzman Energy Board of Directors.
“We offer communities—empowered by their desire for a more sustainable
and competitive energy future—a path to achieve their goals,” said Chris
Riley, President of Guzman Energy. “We accomplish this via a focus on
renewables, mixed when necessary with traditional fuel types; smart-grid
tech; increased efficiencies; battery storage; and more, thereby leading
the efforts to transition our energy economy into the renewable age. We
want to pave the way toward a better future for generations to come—both
on and off the energy grid.”
In February 2017, Guzman Energy shook up the energy status quo by
announcing a partnership with Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) to
enable the northern New Mexico counties of Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba
to achieve summer solar energy independence by 2022. In addition to
generating renewable energy to cover 100 percent of the summer daytime
load—saving 30,000 co-op members $50 million to $70 million in the next
10 years—Guzman Energy seeks to foster competitiveness and spur greater
opportunity in the communities they serve.
“ZOMA Capital invests in a wide range of market-based sustainable
solutions addressing environmental and social challenges, including
energy, water and community development," said Melissa Cheong, Chief
Investment Officer of ZOMA Capital. “Guzman Energy’s efforts to realign
the energy economy—in unique bilateral markets in New Mexico, Colorado
and beyond—aligns with our dedication to investing in a more efficient,
responsive and modernized electric grid.”
“At Vision Ridge, we focus on opportunities that are good for the
environment that we also believe can deliver strong financial returns,”
said Reuben Munger, Managing Partner and Founder of Vision Ridge
Partners. “And with Guzman Energy having been very vocal in sharing its
long-term mission of making communities thrive and be more competitive,
we see this as an excellent fit.”
About Guzman Energy
Guzman Energy is a wholesale energy company that supplies and trades
power across North America. We are a new kind of power company—one that
customizes energy solutions via trading expertise and sophisticated
quantitative modeling. We enable customers—principally rural electric
cooperatives and municipal power companies—to achieve lower rates and
price-stability from renewable, sustainable energy. Headquartered in
Coral Gables, Fla., and Denver, Colo., Guzman Energy has unique
expertise in serving customers in the bilateral power markets of the
Western United States and conducts its business through two practice
areas: Energy & Environmental Trading and Energy Hedging & Risk
Management. To learn more, visit www.GuzmanEnergy.com.
About ZOMA Capital
ZOMA Capital invests in a broad range of market-based sustainable
solutions advancing energy, water and regional economic resiliency in
Chile and Colorado. Its global investment portfolio spans multiple asset
classes and sectors with an emphasis on addressing environmental and
social challenges. To learn more, visit https://ZOMAlab.com/ZOMA-capital/.
About Vision Ridge
Vision Ridge Partners is a private equity firm, investing in sustainable
real assets and asset-backed opportunities. Vision Ridge specializes in
opportunities that generate strong financial returns in fundamentally
impactful sectors, including renewable power, agriculture, water,
waste-to-energy, transportation, energy efficiency and land. The firm
was founded in 2008 and is based in Boulder, Colo., with an additional
office in New York, New York.
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