GIC Teams With Partners Group, Mubadala, TPG to Buy German Proptech Firm for $7.8B

Singapore sovereign giant GIC has joined with Swiss fund manager Partners Group and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company to buy Techem, a German provider of energy-saving services to the real estate sector, at an enterprise value of €6.7 billion ($7.8 billion).

US private equity firm TPG is also taking part in the acquisition through its climate investing strategy, the companies said Monday in a release. Partners’ infrastructure business will hold a controlling interest and the other investors will take minority stakes in Techem, which serves more than 440,000 customers in 18 countries.

Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Eschborn, near Frankfurt, Techem was acquired in 2018 by a consortium of Partners’ private equity business and Canadian co-investors La Caisse and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, in a deal that valued the proptech firm at €4.6 billion. That group is exiting its stakes as part of the latest transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2025.

“Techem is at the forefront of energy services and is uniquely positioned to drive energy efficiency within the real estate sector,” said Boon Chin Hau, chief investment officer for infrastructure at GIC. “Our partnership with Partners Group, TPG, Mubadala, and Techem’s management team will accelerate the business’s strategy, unlocking future growth.”

Betting on Efficiency

The institutional bet on Techem, led by CEO Matthias Hartmann, comes amid a growing focus on energy efficiency driven by regulatory requirements, corporate decarbonisation goals and higher costs, the companies said.

The new owners seek to execute a value-creation plan focused on strengthening Techem’s position as a provider of energy sub-metering for the real estate sector in Europe. With 62 million of Techem’s devices installed worldwide, the German firm promises environmental and economic benefits through fair cost allocation, driving down consumption and emissions at the most competitive cost.

The current ownership oversaw a period of strong growth at Techem as revenue topped €1 billion and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew by 50 percent, according to Monday’s announcement.

“The new ownership consortium is ideal for Techem because it ensures continuity while also providing fresh impulses for the implementation of our strategy,” Hartmann said. “We look forward to working with them on the next phase of our growth story as we capitalise on our momentum to further expand our position as the leading platform for the digitalisation and decarbonisation of the building sector in Europe and beyond.”

Green Giants

GIC and Partners previously teamed up on green initiatives three years ago when they co-led a $650 million equity round for Climeworks, a Zurich-based player in air capture and carbon dioxide removal technologies.

The $800 billion Singaporean fund also joined forces with Partners and Melbourne-based hospitality operator Salter Brothers in 2021 to buy a portfolio of 11 Travelodge hotels in Australia with a gross asset value of A$620 million (then $457.3 million). In 2022, Partners acquired US data centre operator Edgecore Digital Infrastructure in a $1.2 billion deal, taking over the hyperscale specialist co-founded by GIC.

The past two years saw GIC back a $3.9 billion direct-lending fund of TPG and co-invest with the Texas-based firm in an Indian hospital chain.