Blackstone has so far invested more than $21bn of equity in the global energy industry. Credit: John Hanson Pye via Shutterstock.

Private equity companies Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners on Tuesday announced plans to jointly acquire Australian energy market software company Energy Exemplar.

The deal, which sources say could be worth more than $1bn (A$1.57bn), will aim to help Energy Exemplar accelerate technological advancements relating to grid reliability and the energy transition, Blackstone said in a press statement.

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Vista and Blackstone will both acquire an equal 50% stake in Exemplar, with the company’s current owner, Riverside Company, cashing out, sources told Reuters.

Under Riverside ownership, Energy Exemplar has grown at an annual compound rate of 30% over the past five years. The software company’s tools, which include its Plexos and Aurora cloud software suites, are used by more than 500 companies across 79 countries to optimise operations relating to electricity, water, gas and renewables.

David Wilson, CEO of Energy Exemplar, said: “The combination of Blackstone and Vista brings a unique level of expertise in both the energy and software industries, which will continue to propel Energy Exemplar as the go-to solution for the energy transition for all our clients around the world who are leading this charge.”

Blackstone has so far invested more than $21bn of equity in the global energy industry. In a new funding round, its energy transition arm, Blackstone Energy Transition Partners IV, had raised $2.2bn of a $5.6bn target by the end of August.

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Bilal Khan, senior managing director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said that the investment is “the latest in a series demonstrating Blackstone’s conviction in the energy transition”.

The companies did not provide specific financial details.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel, and William Blair served as financial advisor to Blackstone and Vista. Lazard acted as sole financial advisor, and Jones Day and Herbert Smith Freehills served as legal counsel to Energy Exemplar.