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GFJ ESG Acquisition I SE and tado GmbH, a European market leader for intelligent climate management, intend to consummate a business combination that will bring tado public via a de-SPAC transaction

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  • GFJ ESG Acquisition I SE, the first German pure-play SPAC for sustainable technologies, and tado GmbH have signed a mutually exclusive Letter of Intent and agreed on the terms of a business combination

  • tado is Europe’s pioneer in intelligent climate management, offering solutions that are manufacturer-independent and compatible with more than 18,000 systems from 900 OEMs; customers save an average of 22% on heating cost per year

  • The company is connected in over 400,000 buildings and households and has over 7 GW capacity under management, equivalent to about 7,000 average wind turbines

  • tado is active in more than 20 countries and has sold more than 2 million smart thermostats

  • Upon closing of the business combination, the combined group will be publicly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

  • It is currently envisaged that the transaction will value tado with an enterprise value of approximately EUR 450 million

  • The business combination with GFJ would enable tado to further accelerate its growth plans and to heavily invest in its product and technology development, as GFJ is dedicated to support tado with capital and expertise

Luxembourg, 17 January 2022

GFJ ESG Acquisition I SE (“GFJ”), a Luxembourg special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), signed a mutually exclusive Letter of Intent and agreed on the terms of a business combination with tado GmbH (“tado”), a European market leader for intelligent climate management. In case of a successful closing of the business combination, tado will be publicly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In connection to the business combination GFJ will raise further capital in a private investment in public equity transaction (“PIPE Transaction”). It is currently envisaged that the transaction will value tado with an enterprise value of approximately EUR 450 million.

Toon Bouten, CEO of tado, comments: “The entire team at tado is extremely proud to partner up with GFJ. We share the same convictions and the same passion for environmental technologies. And we are determined to jointly help our customers save money and reduce their ecological footprint. Together, we are in a great position to create a more sustainable energy future.”

Gisbert Rühl, CEO of GFJ, adds: "Both GFJ and tado are determined to turn up the heat on fighting against climate change in a smart way. tado already is a market leader in the very spirit of a new wave of green tech companies. We are excited to bring in capital and expertise to help them grow even stronger and foster their technology development. Around 21% of energy consumption in the EU is used for heating and cooling private housing alone. If the EU and Germany want to fulfil their commitment to becoming the world's first climate-neutral economy by 2050, there is no alternative to decarbonising the housing sector.”

Building one of the most impactful smart energy efficiency and management platforms in Europe and beyond

As the only cross-manufacturer solution, tado’s Smart Thermostats and services connect with any kind of heating or cooling system. Matching over 18,000 systems from more than 900 manufacturers, tado is compatible with around 95% of Europe’s residential buildings and households. Simple to install and equipped with intelligent data management technology, its products are a plug-and-play solution resulting in less money spent on heating: customers save an average 22% on heating cost per year by using tado’s technology. tado enables its customers to benefit from energy-saving technologies such as geofencing and open-window detection as well as the integration of weather forecasts. With over 2 million sold smart thermostats and an installed base of 7 GW energy capacity in over 400,000 buildings and households, tado’s technology already helped to avoid 730,000 tons of CO2.

tado will use its connected buildings and households to create one of the most impactful energy efficiency and management platform for Europe and beyond. Capturing the entire value chain from grid integration and distribution to energy retailing and consumption, tado addresses the multi-billion-dollar value pools of energy efficiency, smart energy tariffs and demand response solutions.

Strong outlook due to tech-enabled green business

tado’s business success is expected to result in rapid revenue growth with the aim of delivering more than EUR 0.5 billion in revenue by 2025.

The company’s competitive advantage is driven by its technological edge. AI-driven, model-predictive control and a deep understanding of individual thermal capacity of connected buildings and households lead to significant improvement of energy efficiency and low energy cost.

The tado energy efficiency platform delivers high savings for consumers, with tado’s solutions paying for themselves within the first year on average, whilst proving as a substantial business for tado across both hardware and SaaS subscription software services. tado offers time-of-use energy tariffs which enable customers to benefit from volatility in the energy markets. The increasing energy production from growing renewable energy sources leads to higher volatility in the energy market. When the availability of wind or solar energy is high, energy prices drop significantly. tado’s technologies use these times in particular to load buffer storage tanks and hot water tanks when the price of energy is lower. This intelligently shifts the energy consumption of homes to more favourable times and lowers energy costs whilst retaining the level of comfort customers are used to.

Summary of Transaction 

GFJ and tado signed a mutually exclusive Letter of Intent and agreed on the terms of a business combination.

Both parties will now start to market the PIPE Transaction. It is currently envisaged that the transaction will value tado with an enterprise value of approximately EUR 450 million.

The combined group will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and will have a shareholder base comprised of (i) tado's existing shareholders, (ii) GFJ’s existing shareholders and (iii) the PIPE investors. 

Upon closing of the business combination, the listed entity is expected to be branded as tado SE.

Subject to the decision of the competent corporate bodies it is currently envisaged that the management board shall be comprised of Oliver Kaltner as CEO, Christian Deilmann as CPO and Johannes Schwarz as CTO. Emanuel Eibach will remain CFO. Gisbert Rühl shall become chairman of the supervisory board. Josef Brunner, Petr Míkovec, Toon Bouten and Maximilian Mayer shall also join the supervisory board. 


Advisors

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Eight Advisory, Flick Gocke Schaumburg, Boston Consulting Group and Maximilian Mayer for GFJ; Allen & Overy LLP for tado GmbH.


About tado

tado° is a European leader in intelligent home climate management. As the only cross-manufacturer platform, tado° Smart Thermostats and services connect with any kind of heating or cooling system. Customers benefit from energy-saving technology such as Geofencing and Open Window Detection as well as time-of-use energy tariffs. Founded in Munich, 2011, and with 180 employees, tado° reshapes the way energy is consumed for more comfort, savings, and in sync with nature. www.tado.com 


About GFJ

Led by Gisbert Rühl, GFJ is backed by a sponsor team with decades of experience in building and leading companies: Gisbert Rühl, CEO of GFJ, has twelve years of experience as CEO and four years as CFO of Klöckner & Co. where, among other things, he drove the company's digital transformation through the Berlin hub kloeckner.i. Florian Fritsch is a serial real estate and a principal investor in ventures such as Tesla, Relayr and Delivery Hero. Josef Brunner, Chairman of GFJ's Supervisory Board, has a strong track record as a serial entrepreneur in founding and scaling companies, including Joulex and Relayr, where he served as CEO and CTO for several years. www.gfj-esg.com 


Media enquiries

For tadoº

tado GmbH

Simone Kemmner

Press@tado.com

For GFJ

Finsbury Glover Hering  Jobst Honig Tel +49 171 86 29 967 jobst.honig@fgh.com


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