International law firm Bird & Bird has advised BW ESS on their acquisition of the remaining shares of Penso Power. This transaction follows a strategic investment and development partnership with Penso Power in 2021.
BW ESS is a global energy storage owner-operator, delivering market-leading projects across multiple countries. They have a multi-gigawatt pipeline, with over 1GWh of projects currently in construction, working with strategic partners in the UK, Italy, Sweden, and Australia.
Penso Power develops and operates large-scale battery energy storage projects, primarily in the UK, Italy, and Australia. They play a crucial role in integrating renewable energy sources and enhancing the resilience of electricity networks.
Use of battery storage at both grid and consumer level is a vital step to net zero. Britain is set to quadruple its grid-scale battery storage capacity by 2030.
The Bird & Bird corporate team consisted of partner Matt Bonass and associates Maria John and Zoe Symes. Also supporting the transaction were partner Sarah Ferguson and legal director Sam Marriott from the Employee Incentives and Benefits team, alongside partner Zoe Feller and associate Andrew Rink from the Tax team.
Matt Bonass, lead partner on the transaction, commented: “As the technology sitting behind energy storage has developed, our market-leading Energy & Utilities team has been called upon by clients to advise them on their planned business streams, both behind and in front of the meter. The acquisition of Penso Power by our longstanding client BW Group will allow them to consolidate their commitment to developing global energy storage solutions.”
Erik Stromso, BW ESS CEO, commented: “We first partnered with Bird & Bird on our initial investment in Penso Power in 2021 and have worked on every UK transaction with them since, as well as some transactions internationally. The team’s sector expertise and extensive transaction advisory experience have been instrumental to the speed and efficiency with which we have been able to expand our footprint. “
Our Energy & Utilities team advise on the interaction of law and regulation with technology, energy market transactions and infrastructure. Bird & Bird’s strategy to specialise in sectors being disrupted by technology means our work in the energy sector has been focused on renewables and other cleantech, including battery storage projects.
We have been recognised by the Clean Energy Pipeline Legal League Tables 2024 for closing 172 M&A and PF clean energy deals globally in 2023 – the highest total of any law firm. This includes being the number 1 firm globally for M&A deals by volume in clean energy in the Clean Energy Pipeline Legal League Tables 2024 (for the 7th consecutive year).
