Newsletter APR. 2024

Driving Sustainable Investments Through Collaboration

The first quarter of 2024 saw our sourcing strategy pay off with several exclusive deal opportunities likely to materialize over the next few months. Above all, our emphasis on fostering the growth of our portfolio companies via buy-and-build has created substantial momentum.

At Vidia, collaborating with entrepreneurs is both an inspiration and a driving force for us. A new generation of owners and CEOs is recognizing the advantages of a deeply thematic climate solution strategy. Thomas Wierig, co-shareholder and CFO of Wierig Group, elaborates on this in a short interview. Leading to tangible investment opportunities, Vidia continues to witness substantial alignment of our mission and the mindset of potential target company owners and managers.

Furthermore, this edition of our newsletter highlights our focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for industrial buildings. Particularly, roofs are evolving into complex building components including insulation systems, solar installations, and green roofs. Building renovation for energy efficiency is crucial for a sustainable future, offering ecological, economic, and social benefits thanks to lower energy consumption – a prime example of the financial return and impact collinearity we seek in our investments.

At Vidia, we’re committed to redefine private equity in light of climate change. While carbon offsetting is now commonplace and many funds have finally set decarbonization targets, Vidia has developed its own approach to managing emissions – going beyond offsetting. As you can read in this newsletter, our aim is to set a new standard in responsible investing, from Vidia’s internal processes to how we manage our portfolio all the way through to responsible exits. Thank you for reading!

Johanna Struthmann
Founder

VIDIA Perspective

“5 Questions” with Thomas Wierig

About Thomas Wierig:

Thomas Wierig is Group CFO and family shareholder of Wierig Group. Wierig Group is a leading service provider for large industrial flat roofs. Founded 130 years ago, the company is well positioned to meet the growing demand for energetic refurbishments and solar installations for industrial buildings, supporting Germany’s energy transition. Emblematic for Vidia’s investment profile, the acquisition of Wierig combines a succession situation with a significant scale up opportunity, offering collinearity between climate impact and financial returns.

Four months post closing, Thomas Wierig shares his perspective on the investment by Vidia into the Wierig Group below:

1. What makes Wierig unique?

Wierig Group is a family-owned organization with a strong local culture. We work in a customer-oriented manner, with a high degree of flexibility and short decision-making processes.
We combine roofing expertise with advanced energetic refurbishment know-how and the skills and manpower to install large-scale solar on sizable flat roofs.
We are driven by purpose, as our goal is to decarbonize the industrial buildings sector across Germany.

2. What was the decisive factor for you and your family to take on a new shareholder?

While still a long way from retirement age, we pursued a careful selection process at an early stage to preserve the identity of our company in the long term.
Our goal was to find a strong partner who could support and accelerate our ongoing growth journey and realize Wierig’s potential in the markets we address.

3. Why did you choose Vidia over several other interested parties?

Vidia convinced us early in the process during a joint value creation workshop where we identified inspiring business development opportunities.
We quickly realized that this wasn’t just a personal fit, but that we could develop Wierig with Vidia in the long term, based on relevant experience that Vidia has demonstrated in similar situations in the past.
Vidia’s mission in decarbonizing industries at scale is fully aligned with our priorities.

4. What are the next steps on your journey together with Vidia?

We want to expand operating capacities in our core business areas, particularly flat roof refurbishment and solar installation, supported by various digitalization initiatives. We are strategically looking for add-on opportunities, fuelled by the operational support and expansion capital available from Vidia.
These inorganic opportunities help Wierig to increase the depth of value add and further expand our geographical reach.

5. What are you looking forward to?

Just one month after the transaction was completed, we held a two-day workshop with the Vidia team to define the roadmap and we can’t wait to put theory into practice.

VIDIA Blog

UNLOCKING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING POTENTIAL

More insights into the world of roof refurbishment for energy efficiency, where roofs are not just a shell, but a powerhouse of sustainability.

VIDIA’S APPROACH TO CARBON MANAGEMENT

Join us on our journey going beyond traditional carbon offsets into the realm of internal carbon fees to manage emissions. Discover our approach to the intricacies of carbon fee levels and the strategic allocation of carbon budgets.

CO-LINEARITY OF CLIMATE IMPACT AND FINANCIAL RETURNS

Vidia’s investment strategy focuses on achieving financial and impact goals by investing in and scaling climate solutions providers. Read more how Vidia supports portfolio management with its own experts for driving growth and emission reduction.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA

We look for leading companies with a proven business model offering climate positive products or services.

WE ARE HIRING

We are actively searching for additions to our investment, impact and operations teams, plus roles in HR, finance and investor relations.