Octopus Energy Receives New Investments from CPPIB, GIM

Octopus Energy, the largest electricity provider in the U.K., announced on Tuesday that it had raised $370 million in a new investment round lead by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Generation Investment Management, existing stakeholders in the company.

The valuation of Octopus Energy increased by 15% following the round, bringing its valuation to $9 billion. Generation Investment Management increased its share of the company to 13%, with backing from Australia’s Aware Super and another unidentified U.S. pension fund. CPPIB will increase its stake of Octopus Energy to 12%.

Following the investment, Octopus Energy plans to expand its product offerings in the U.S., including its data and machine learning technology platform, Kraken. The company previously raised $800 million in a funding round that closed in December. Octopus energy had raised more than $2 billion over the past eight years.

“It is clear that Octopus is a generational opportunity. The company has accelerated ahead of its U.K. peers in energy and in Kraken has developed the first credible digitization platform for utilities,” said Tom Hodges, co-head of private equity at Generation Investment Management, in a press release. “We’re backing the world-class management team and the thousands of talented people in the Octopus Energy Group as they transform multiple industries at once, and it’s a pleasure to work with pension funds including Aware Super to deliver this huge potential.”

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“Through this increased commitment to Octopus Energy, we are pleased to support the business as it enters this next period of growth,” said Bill Rogers, managing director and global head of sustainable energies at CPPIB, in a press release. “As a pioneering, and tech-enabled energy company, Octopus Energy has an expanding global footprint and remains a leader and innovator in the energy sector, through both its customer propositions and its support of the global energy transition.”