Apis Growth Fund I fully exits position in Sun King

Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, has fully exited its remaining position in off-grid solar energy company Sun King, formerly Greenlight Planet. This follows the announcement on 27 April 2022, in which the fund divested a partial stake in the company.

Sun King has announced a $70 million series D extension capital raise, with the investment round being led by Leapfrog. As part of this transaction, the fund divested its remaining stake in the company.

Sun King’s off-grid solar home systems power lights, mobile phones, radios and larger home appliances and are more affordable and sustainable than kerosene or new power lines, allowing customers to leapfrog electrical grids and fossil-fuel energy sources entirely.

The fund initially invested in Greenlight Planet/Sun King in 2017. Since then, the company has grown over five times, with annualised revenue now exceeding US$200 million, serving over 95 clients in rural areas across Kenya, Nigeria, India, Uganda, Tanzania, as well as Mozambique, Togo and Cameroon, three countries it recently expanded into. Over the investment period, Apis has leveraged its extensive experience in global financial services, to assist Sun King in developing new products and geographical expansion.

Matteo Stefanel, co-founder and managing partner at Apis Partners commented, “We are delighted to have supported the company over its rapid growth phase over the last five years, delivering attractive financial returns for our investors as well as a lasting and wide-ranging social and environmental impact on the communities we serve. The investment by high-quality investors such as Leapfrog and BeyondNetZero will further propel the company’s growth, as it embarks on this next phase of growth.”

Udayan Goyal, co-founder and managing partner at Apis Partners continued, “It has been a pleasure to work with Patrick, Anish and the team as they have grown Sun King into the world’s largest direct-to-consumer, pay-as-you-go solar distribution network. We are proud to have been part of the Sun King journey, as it created value in a sustainable way, delivering on our twin-goals of financial returns and social impact.”