Clairvest Acquires Solar O&M Business of SunPower, Rebrands it as NovaSource Power Services

Clairvest Group Inc. (TSX: CVG) (“CVG”) today announced that it, together with Clairvest Equity Partners VI (“CEP VI”) (together “Clairvest”), acquired the solar operations and maintenance (“O&M”) business of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR). Upon closing the business will be renamed NovaSource Power Services (“NovaSource” or the “Company”).

NovaSource is a recognized O&M leader in commercial, industrial and utility scale solar projects. The transaction is part of Clairvest’s multi-year pursuit to create a market leading solar O&M platform through a ‘buy and build’ strategy. Clairvest is supporting the current leadership team of SunPower’s O&M division in a management buy-out, with the management team becoming material shareholders going forward. The SunPower O&M business, which will become NovaSource, is recognized as the market leader in terms of quality of service and capability and oversees some of the most high profile solar projects in the United States. NovaSource operates in nine countries today.

“We are excited to increase our involvement in the solar power industry. Our partners at NovaSource are invested and highly experienced industry executives, eager to lead the Company through its next phase of growth. We believe that NovaSource will strengthen its position as the leading global solar O&M provider of scale in the coming years, serving the most sophisticated customers in the world as a preferred provider. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with SunPower, who built this great business, and look forward to a continuing relationship with them,” said Ken Rotman, CEO of Clairvest.

“NovaSource can capitalize on our industry’s tail winds and the expected growth of installed solar assets over the next ten to fifteen years. We are already recognized as the quality leader in our industry, and with Clairvest, we will continue to invest in our platform to further enhance our capabilities, reach, and service levels and expand on that lead to continue to exceed our customers’ expectations. We are pleased to work with Clairvest given their alignment with our mission and their successful track record of helping build industry leading companies,” said Jack Bennett, CEO of NovaSource.

Marathon Capital acted as the exclusive advisor to SunPower on this transaction.

“SunPower has built an impressive global services business that has faithfully served many solar clients both domestically and abroad. We look forward to seeing the evolution and continued growth of NovaSource for years to come and were proud to be a part of this process,” said David Kirkpatrick, Director & Co-head of the West Coast Office of Marathon Capital.

NovaSource is Clairvest’s 3rd investment in the solar energy sector, 57th platform investment and the second investment by CEP VI. The Clairvest / CEP VI co-investment pool is capitalized at US$850 million and focuses on equity investments in growth companies.

About ClairvestClairvest’s mission is to partner with entrepreneurs to help them build strategically significant businesses. Founded in 1987 by a group of successful Canadian entrepreneurs, Clairvest is a top performing private equity management firm with over CAD $2.4 billion of capital under management. Clairvest invests its own capital, and that of third parties through the Clairvest Equity Partners limited partnerships, in owner-led businesses. Under the current management team, Clairvest has initiated investments in 52 different platform companies and generated top quartile performance over an extended period.

About Marathon Capital Marathon Capital is a leading financial advisory and investment banking firm focused on providing financial advice in the areas of M&A, capital raising of debt and equity, project finance, tax equity, financial restructuring, recapitalization, bankruptcy and workout situations in the energy sector. Marathon Capital is a four-time recipient of the "Best Renewable Asset M&A Adviser" Award, "Renewable Generating Project Finance Deal of the Year" Award (2016), first-time recipient of the "Best Asset M&A Adviser" (2017) and first-time recipient of the "M&A Adviser of the Year" (2019) in Power Finance & Risk's Annual Power Finance Deals and Firms Awards (www.marathoncapital.com)

Clairvest Contact InformationMaria Shkolnik Director, Investor Relations and MarketingClairvest Group Inc.Tel: [phone] | Fax: (416) [e-mail] 

Marathon Capital Contact InformationAndrea RoskoVice President of MarketingMarathon Capital, [e-mail]