Bloomberg Acquires New Energy Finance, Bolsters its Green Markets Presence
Line BreakAuthor: Eli Magid (11 Articles)
Eli is a financial markets entrepreneur and co-founder of a green start-up which utilizes carbon finance to prevent rainforest destruction in developing countries. Previously, Eli worked for Morgan Stanley facilitating M&A, equity offerings and private placements among a variety of industries. Eli began his career at Credit Suisse, structuring and executing over $15 billion of debt securitizations across a diverse credit and product spectrum. Eli has a BSc in Applied Economics & Management from Cornell University.
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Last Thursday financial news and trading data behemoth Bloomberg L.P. announced that it acquired UK-based New Energy Finance (NEF), a provider of news, data and analysis on the carbon and renewable energy markets. Although financial terms were not disclosed, last September the UK Times reported NEF was up for sale for between GBP30mm ($49mm) and GBP40mm ($65mm).
The acquisition is further proof that the carbon and the renewable energy sector are in route to becoming a central component of the global economy. Last week Bloomberg competitor Thomson Reuters acquired ASSET4 AG, a Swiss-based, provider of Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance (ESG) information and tools for professional investors and corporate executives.
But Bloomberg’s acquisition of NEF is especially noteworthy in light of a firm that’s notorious for its “build, don’t buy” culture and that it’s merely the second in its 28 year history. Bloomberg’s first ever acquisition, the purchase of BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill Cos. for $5 million in cash and assuming liabilities, was recently completed this past Tuesday.
So what’s the reasoning behind Bloomberg’s second acquisition? Bloomberg is probably closely eyeing the US passage of carbon legislation, the UN COP15 meetings in Copenhagen and the recent US EPA finding regulating CO2, as strong indicators that the carbon and renewable energy markets are poised to take off.
Currently there is no central resource for news and analytics for these up and coming markets. Online newsletters and trade publications covering the green space are for the most part fragmented and niche. They generally target specific technologies like wind, solar and biomass, with no one central repository. In its acquisition of NEF, Bloomberg is being both smart and proactive, choosing a leading platform for an industry primed for growth before others beat them to it.
But it’s a bet on Wall Street just as much as it’s a bet on “green.” Those who had prophesized the complete destruction and revamping of Wall Street were mistaken. The capital markets ecosystem remains intact and there are armies of bankers and traders eagerly waiting the next big product to structure and trade. The spigot for green investment was $150 billion this year, despite the global economic meltdown, and HSBC is forecasting that climate industry could be worth $2 Trillion by 2020.
Interesting to watch is how Bloomberg rebrands and markets New Energy Finance under their large umbrella of subscription services and whether two acqusitions in a single week represent a newfound appetite for expansion.
Line BreakAuthor: Eli Magid (11 Articles)
Eli is a financial markets entrepreneur and co-founder of a green start-up which utilizes carbon finance to prevent rainforest destruction in developing countries. Previously, Eli worked for Morgan Stanley facilitating M&A, equity offerings and private placements among a variety of industries. Eli began his career at Credit Suisse, structuring and executing over $15 billion of debt securitizations across a diverse credit and product spectrum. Eli has a BSc in Applied Economics & Management from Cornell University.
