Riverside’s Latest Investment is Electric

The Riverside Company, a global private equity investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Montel AS (Montel), a founder and manager owned, Norwegian provider of energy and electricity market information.

Montel, headquartered in Oslo, is a niche market leader with an international footprint, providing energy and electricity market information for energy producers, grid operators, financial institutions, trading firms and industrial end-users. The company’s services are primarily delivered through its proprietary Montel Online platform on a subscription basis, covering energy market news and real-time and historical trading data.

Montel has one of the strongest suites of full-service energy information services in the market, enjoying high market shares in its key geographies, despite competing against some of the largest global information providers, due to its position as the only focused provider of power market information services.

“This acquisition resonates well with our investment strategy. Montel is truly a ‘little leader’ in the energy information market, and we believe it’s perfectly positioned to benefit from the shift from fossil fuels to renewable power sources in many parts of the economy,” said Riverside Europe Managing Partner Karsten Langer. “We are delighted to be investing alongside the founder and managers, who will remain with the business and continue to play an integral role in the growth of the company over the coming years.”

Riverside will support Montel’s growth by upscaling the organization to capture share in a growing market, developing new products and services and driving geographic expansion. In addition, the group will pursue selective add-on acquisitions to broaden the analytical service offering.

The operations of Montel are highly compliant with several ESG aspects and UN Sustainable Development Goals, as the company’s services help businesses gain a better understanding of their energy consumption, allowing them to act to reduce climate change in the longer term and transition smoothly to renewable energy consumption.

“We are excited to be partnering with Riverside for the next phase of Montel’s growth,” said Montel CEO Tom Nyblin. “The demand for power market information services and analytics is expected to experience strong growth going forward and joining forces with Riverside puts Montel in a strong position to benefit from these trends.”

Working with Langer on the transaction for Riverside were Senior Partner Dr. Michael Weber, Vice President Dan Parksjö, Senior Director Jeroen Lenssen, Operating Partner Julian Heerdegen and Senior Legal Counsel Peter Parmentier. Principal, Origination, Ali Al Alaf sourced the deal for Riverside.

Closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Riverside was advised by BAHR, Allen & Overy, Hannes Snellman, Bain & Company, PWC, Deloitte and Code & Co., while the company and its shareholders were advised by Alpha Corporate Finance, Wiersholm and BDO.