Blackstone to sell stake in De Nora

London and Milan, 19 November 2020 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (“Blackstone”) have agreed to sell their stake in De Nora (“De Nora” or “the Group”), a global innovator of sustainable clean energy and water treatment technologies, to Snam S.p.A., one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators.

Headquartered in Milan, and established by the De Nora family in 1923, through three generations the family-owned business has been a pioneer in electrochemistry and in its main industrial applications. De Nora is a recognised leader in helping organisations find sustainable solutions for a variety of industrial processes, from basic chemicals production and electronics to energy storage and water treatment systems and solutions.

Blackstone invested in De Nora in August 2017. Since then, the Group has performed strongly, achieving organic growth whilst driving innovation in new, sustainable products and patented technologies, and breaking into attractive new end-markets such as hydrogen energy. Completion is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Andrea Valeri, Senior Managing Director and Chairman of Blackstone Italy, said: “Our investment in De Nora builds on Blackstone’s successful history of supporting entrepreneurial family businesses to achieve their goals. We are proud to have helped take a leader in sustainable solutions into new arenas including the coming Energy Transition and Hydrogen Economy, whilst achieving worldwide recognition as the innovation partner of choice for next-generation environmental technologies.

We wish the De Nora family, CEO Paolo Dellachà and the whole management team every success under their new partnership with Snam, as the Company embarks on its next phase of growth.”

Federico De Nora, Chairman of De Nora, said: “The Blackstone team has demonstrated an excellent understanding of our business and the market, and they have helped us reshape our organisation to drive significant growth and be in the strong position we are today. 

We now look forward to working with Snam, our new minority shareholder, as we embark on the next phase in our company’s history. In Snam, we identified an industrial partner with significant operational synergies, who also share in our ongoing commitment to dedicate substantial resources in support of the global Energy Transition, for a less polluted world.”

Paolo Dellachà, Chief Executive Officer of De Nora, commented: “De Nora has further elevated itself into a leading position over the last three years across existing and new markets, particularly given the increasing demand worldwide for sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions.

We are well positioned to support significant global shifts in investments addressing decarbonisation, thanks to a complete portfolio of high performing electrodes and solutions distributed through a valuable network of partnerships with key manufactures, and above all,  thanks to the strength of our Joint Venture partnership with thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers.”

Marco Alverà, Chief Executive Officer of Snam, commented: “The strategic partnership with an Italian company of excellence, a global innovator in sustainable technologies and with important prospects for hydrogen development, is a unique opportunity to strengthen Snam’s role in the energy transition. The partnership with De Nora will allow us to be a leader in the development of green hydrogen, which is becoming a key feature of the decarbonisation agenda in Italy, across Europe and in many countries around the world. Thanks to this transaction and the new energy innovation platform we will be able to increase our exposure to new green technologies while remaining focused on our core business and contributing to a net zero world.”

Blackstone was advised by Lazard and Mediobanca. Snam was advised by BofA Securities.

Media Contacts:

Blackstone
Stephen Lewis
+44 (0)7780 057 345
[email protected]

Rebecca Flower
+44 (0)7918 360 372
[email protected]

De Nora
Luca Buonerba
+39 02 21291
[email protected]

About Blackstone:

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $584 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone. 

About De Nora:

De Nora (www.denora.com) is a global supplier of innovative technologies and water treatment solutions and is recognised as a partner of choice for the most important industrial electrochemical processes. Driven by the philosophy of continual improvement, pursued since its foundation in 1923, De Nora develops and manufactures electrodes and electrochemical systems with high performance, and offers advanced disinfection and filtration technologies to solve problems related to public and industrial water treatment. De Nora is committed to the development of unconventional solutions to achieve the energy transition to decarbonisation, hydrogen economy and clean water for everyone. More than 1,600 people work together, with enthusiasm and experience, for a sustainable future.

About Snam:

Snam is one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators and one of the largest Italian listed companies in terms of market capitalization. Through its international subsidiaries, it also operates in Albania, Austria, China, France, Greece, UAE and UK. The Company has the largest natural gas transmission network and storage capacity among European peers and is also one of the main operators in regasification. As part of a €6.5 billion plan to 2023, Snam invests €1.4 bn in the SnamTec project, focused on innovation and new energy transition businesses such as sustainable mobility, biomethane and energy efficiency. Snam also aims to enable and promote the development of hydrogen to foster decarbonisation in the energy sector and industries. Snam’s business model is based on sustainable growth, transparency, the promotion of talent and diversity and the social development of local areas through the initiatives of Fondazione Snam. www.snam.it