Tim Distler joins as VP of corporate development to lead M&A efforts of United States’ second-largest private owner of residential solar assets

HOUSTON, TX—MAY 16, 2019— Spruce Finance, a leading owner and operator of distributed generation solar and residential energy assets in the U.S., announced it has received a $50 million equity investment from its owner HPS Investment Partners, a leading global investment firm with more than $48 billion of assets under management. The follow-on investment demonstrates HPS' commitment to Spruce and the solar asset class, providing support for continued growth through acquisition of solar assets.

The investment comes as Spruce, the second-largest privately held residential solar company in the U.S., is actively pursuing opportunities to add operational solar assets to its 150 MW portfolio. Spruce is looking beyond residential portfolios and is also evaluating community and commercial solar assets.
Tim Distler recently joined Spruce as vice president of corporate development to lead the company's project finance and M&A activity. Distler has extensive experience in solar financing, having led a solar development and finance platform for LG Electronics. Prior to LG, he was head of project finance at RET Capital and also held roles at Recurrent Energy, PG&E and E.ON Climate & Renewables.
"The continued support of HPS, paired with Tim's M&A expertise, ensures that we have both the capital and the capabilities needed to acquire attractive portfolios." said Christian Fong, president and CEO of Spruce Finance, "The growth of our team's expertise and our financial resources set us up for a strong growth trajectory."
The equity funding follows Spruce's recent closing of a $208 million senior secured debt financing of its residential solar assets. Its independent subsidiary, Energy Service Experts, provides asset management services to more than $1 billion of residential solar assets, including both Spruce's own assets and third-party portfolios. In November of last year, Spruce announced that it was acquired by HPS Investment Partners.
About Spruce Finance
Spruce Finance owns and operates a growing portfolio of distributed generation solar and residential energy assets in the U.S. Headquartered in Houston with executive offices in San Francisco, Spruce manages or owns more than 150 MW of installed capacity and is actively acquiring operating residential and commercial and industrial solar assets and power purchase agreements in North America. Spruce's independent subsidiary, Energy Service Experts, delivers comprehensive energy servicing energy and energy efficiency customers across the U.S. Spruce Finance is owned by HPS Investment Partners, a leading investment firm with more than $48 billion of assets under management.