-- Purchase Empowers Bernhard to Continue its Leadership in the 
Energy-as-a-Service Market

DIF Capital Partners ("DIF"), a leading global independent infrastructure 
investment fund manager, through its fund DIF Infrastructure VI, today 
announced an agreement to acquire Bernhard, LLC ("Bernhard") the largest 
privately-owned Energy-as-a-Service ("EaaS") solutions company in the United 
States, from an affiliate of Bernhard Capital Partners.

Bernhard has provided solutions to its customers' energy and infrastructure 
needs for more than 100 years and shifted its focus in 2014 to becoming a 
leading Energy-as-a-Service provider. As part of this business model, Bernhard 
enters into long-term turnkey EaaS concession contracts to upgrade, retrofit 
and service large existing building energy facilities in order to achieve 
substantial energy savings. Clients are currently predominantly higher 
education and healthcare institutions. To date, Bernhard has closed 15 EaaS 
transactions, including the largest EaaS concession in U.S. history. Senior 
management will retain a meaningful ownership position and continue its 
groundbreaking work leading Bernhard.

"Bernhard delivers distributed energy through its unique EaaS model which 
provides clients access to fully integrated and efficient energy solutions, 
thereby significantly reducing the carbon footprint of their buildings and 
utility systems. Bernhard's approach fits perfectly with DIF's Public-Private 
Partnership expertise and ambition to invest in clean energy infrastructure 
solutions around the globe," said Gijs Voskuyl, Partner and Head of Investments 
for DIF Infrastructure VI. "We are excited to partner with Bernhard's 
outstanding management team and support the company in their rapid growth at 
the forefront of the energy transition."

"As Bernhard continues pushing to new heights in the EaaS market, we are 
excited to join forces with DIF Capital Partners given its extensive experience 
with Public-Private Partnerships, district energy, Energy-as-a-Service 
projects, and a shared commitment to efficiency, ESG and sustainability," said 
Ed Tinsley, Bernhard CEO. "The support and strategic counsel from DIF will help 
to guide Bernhard through the next chapter of its story."

With DIF's acquisition of Bernhard, the company will continue the acceleration 
of its market leading core EaaS business to healthcare and higher education 
facilities while expanding those services to other markets and geographies. 

"The future of Bernhard has never been brighter," said Tinsley. "Our track 
record proves we have the expertise and capabilities to push the industry to 
places it has never been before. With this announcement, we are truly at the 
forefront of a new era for energy solutions that will shape the world for 
generations to come."

About Bernhard 
Bernhard, a portfolio company of Bernhard Capital Partners, is a leading 
Energy-as-a-Service company delivering turnkey projects and custom solutions in 
the United States with 100+ years of energy and infrastructure project 
experience servicing higher education, healthcare, commercial and specialty 
markets. Bernhard combines development, financing, design, construction and 
operations to deliver turnkey Energy-as-a-Service solutions that reduce energy 
use, risk and cost so that our clients can focus on their everyday work. 
Headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana, Bernhard has more than 2,000 employees in 
more than 20 office locations across the country. For more information, visit 
Bernhard.com.

About DIF Capital Partners 
DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent fund manager, with more 
than €9.0 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end 
infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF has invested in 
more than 100 Public-Private Partnership projects over the past 16 years in 
sectors such as healthcare, government, and education, where the provision of 
energy, management of energy systems and efficiency of outputs are often a key 
feature of projects. DIF Capital Partners invests in greenfield and operational 
infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and 
Australasia through two complementary strategies:

   -- Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure Fund VI is the latest
      vintage, target equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated
      income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions,
      utilities, and (renewable) energy projects.

   -- DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized economic
      infrastructure assets in the telecom, energy, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 170 professionals, based in ten offices 
located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New 
York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit 
DIF.eu. 

About Bernhard Capital Partners 
Bernhard Capital Partners is a services and infrastructure-focused private 
equity management firm established in 2013. Bernhard Capital Partners has 
deployed capital in three funds across five strategies and has approximately 
$2.5 billion of gross assets under management and is ranked as one of Private 
Equity International's 300 largest private equity firms worldwide. Bernhard 
Capital Partners seeks to create sustainable value by leveraging its experience 
in acquiring, operating, and growing services and infrastructure businesses.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as Bernhard's financial advisor, and Kirkland 
& Ellis LLP provided legal counsel. Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. served as 
financial advisor, White & Case LLP served as legal advisor, Black & Veatch 
Management Consulting served as technical advisor, RWDI served as energy 
advisor, Deloitte LLP (Canada) served as financial, accounting and tax advisor 
and Oliver Wyman as commercial advisor to DIF.

SOURCE: Bernhard