Blackstone is exploring a sale of Aypa Power, its battery storage-focused renewable energy developer, alongside financial advisors Bank of America and Cantor Fitzgerald, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Teasers for the sale process, codenamed “Project Alpha”, went out around the beginning of February, one of the sources said.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Aypa develops, owns, and operates utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects aimed at decarbonizing the grid, according to the company’s website. The company has 33 projects in operation or construction and a 22 GW North American pipeline, with some 70-plus utility scale projects in development.

Blackstone Energy Partners bought Aypa – then called NRStor C&I – from Fengate Asset Management and Lake Bridge Capital II in March 2020. In August of that year, Blackstone rebranded the company as Aypa Power. NRStor C&I was initially founded in 2017.

Aypa also has a Canadian headquarter in Toronto.

Blackstone declined to comment. Aypa, Bank of America, and Cantor Fitzgerald did not respond to requests for comment.

Aypa’s financing

Aypa has been active in the debt markets recently. Earlier this month, Aypa closed a USD 1.5bn construction warehouse revolving facility, which included an additional USD 500m accordion feature. The transaction was led by CIBC and Wells Fargo and will serve as the company’s principal funding source for projects set to reach commercial operation through 2028, according to the announcement.

In December, this publication reported that Apterra Infrastructure Capital was leading a loan upsizing for Aypa, with a holdco financing set to be potentially increased upwards of USD 500m to around USD 1.55bn.

In addition, an opco facility was being raised totaling between USD 1bn and USD 1.5bn.