Edison Partners Successfully Exits Energy Industry Disruptor Budderfly

Partners Group acquires a majority stake in Budderfly and commits $500 million to fund the company’s next stage of growth as the most comprehensive Energy-as-a-Service provider in North America

Edison Partners, a leading growth equity firm, announced today that it will exit portfolio company Budderfly, in which Partners Group (SIX: PGHN) acquired a majority stake. Upon closing, the transaction will deliver a strong cash return.

Edison first invested in the company in June 2017, when it led an initial $22 million financing round. Later, they participated in follow-on rounds where Budderfly raised an additional $55 million in June 2019, bringing the total funding to date to $84.5 million. Since 2017, Budderfly has grown its revenue ~250% CAGR.

With more than 2,750 customer sites across 49 states, Budderfly leads the digital transformation of the energy conservation sector. The Connecticut-based company provides a holistic, outsourced solution for energy management, and infrastructure upgrades, for underserved commercial and industrial businesses with repeatable footprints, such as restaurant chains, assisted living facilities and retail franchises. Budderfly works with household names such as Dunkin, Subway, Wendy’s, YMCA and IHOP, among others. Its proprietary energy software and technology upgrades provide immediate, guaranteed efficiency improvements and usage reductions with zero project risk or out-of-pocket costs. The company’s solutions support more than 400 utility companies in North America.

“Edison has been an incredible, long-term partner, as we honed in on how to offer energy and bill savings through intelligent software for no capital outlay,” said Albert Subbloie, founder and chief executive officer of Budderfly. “We were then able to reach national scale with Edison Partners’ support. The team at Edison provided us with a consistent edge, and we’re thrilled to provide such a successful exit as we enter our next phase of growth with Partners Group.”

The Budderfly exit closes Edison Partners’ fourth deal alongside Subbloie. The firm previously invested in Operative, Tangoe, and Information Management Associates (IMA), backing two of these companies at the Series A stage with spectacular results, before Subbloie revolutionized corporate spend in energy-efficiency-as-a-service and scaled Budderfly to a mid-10 digit run rate.

“Budderfly exceeded our expectations as an industry disruptor. Al has a history of building transformative businesses, and Edison has stood firmly behind him. Having invested in two of Al’s prior companies, one of which returned tenfold to Edison, this was another great outcome. His vision for the energy services market and leadership skills have taken Budderfly’s success to great heights,” said Gary Golding, general partner at Edison Partners, who served on Budderfly’s board of directors.

“Exit opportunities still exist in this economic climate,” said Chris Sugden, managing partner at Edison Partners. “An advantage of having 36 years of objective data combined with the subjective, day-to-day experience of working with high-growth companies, is that we know whom we can support to a successful exit, no matter the market climate. And, of course, these outcomes are simply not possible without CEOs like Al who have both vision and strong execution. Market-disrupting technology combined with consistent leadership, like Budderfly, will win every time.”

About Edison Partners

For 36 years, Edison Partners has been helping CEOs and their executive teams grow and scale their companies. The firm’s investment team brings more than 275 years of combined investing and operating experience to each investment. Through a unique combination of growth capital and the Edison Edge platform, consisting of operating centers of excellence, executive education programs, and the Edison Director Network, Edison employs a truly integrated approach to accelerating growth and creating value for businesses. With experts in enterprise solutions, financial technology and healthcare IT, Edison targets high-growth companies located outside Silicon Valley with $10 million to $30 million in revenue. Investments also include buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, and secondary stock purchases. Edison’s active portfolio has created aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion. Edison Partners manages $1.6 billion in assets. For more information on Edison Partners, please visit edisonpartners.com and follow on LinkedIn.

About Budderfly

Budderfly, ranked as one of the fastest-growing Energy Efficiency as a Service (EEaaS) companies in the United States, is the premier sustainability partner for businesses with repeatable footprints, such as restaurant chains, assisted living facilities, retail franchises, and more. Budderfly installs, monitors and manages a combination of patented technologies, equipment upgrades, and proprietary energy software for its customers at no out-of-pocket cost. Businesses benefit with lower energy bills, a reduced carbon footprint, more reliable operations, and an improved customer and employee experience. Budderfly ranked #2 in energy companies and #10 overall on the 2021 Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies list. For more information visit www.budderfly.com.

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