Commonwealth Bank of Australia has made an equity investment in Wollemi Capital, as part of the global climate specialist investment firm’s Series A capital raising.
Headquartered in Sydney and with staff and investments across Australia and the US, Wollemi invests in the businesses and projects vital “to supporting the global transition to net zero, with a focus on food, agriculture and natural capital, energy transition, and climate services.”
Wollemi was created in 2021 by Co-Founders Tim Bishop and Paul Hunyor, who “lead a global team of climate specialists.”
Mr Bishop was “formerly Global Head of Macquarie Capital and Mr Hunyor was Head of Asia at Boston Consulting Group’s Corporate Venturing unit.”
CBA’s Group Executive Institutional Banking & Markets, Andrew Hinchliff, said:
“This investment will enable CBA and Wollemi to collaborate on a broad range of initiatives aligned to the bank’s commitment to play a leadership role in Australia’s transition and ambition to help our customers reduce their emissions. Wollemi’s highly credentialed founders have strong networks and proven track records combining climate impact, private equity and venture capital expertise with experience financing, building and scaling global business across infrastructure, renewables and technology.”
Mr Hinchliff said:
“Our strategic investment in Wollemi is intended to accelerate the innovation needed to drive Australia’s transition across key sectors, as well as develop carbon markets as an important transition tool. It will significantly contribute to the development of CBA’s climate, carbon and biodiversity expertise and our ability to play a leadership role in supporting investments in climate linked businesses as they scale their operations.”
CBA’s investment in Wollemi underpins “a broader strategic alliance between the two organizations which will facilitate knowledge and expertise sharing, potential co-investment opportunities and further collaboration in the carbon market services sector.”
Wollemi Co-Founder Tim Bishop said:
“The investment from CBA will amplify Wollemi’s impact by allowing us to scale our business and investments more quickly. We’re also excited about the possibilities this strategic alliance opens up, including the opportunity to introduce quality carbon opportunities to CBA and its customer base, along with access to best in breed, world-leading technologies and specialist climate expertise.”
Wollemi Co-Founder Paul Hunyor added:
“A critical element of decarbonisation at scale is bridging emerging climate technologies to corporate and customer demand. The strategic alliance with CBA will allow our portfolio companies, helped by our team of climate investment experts, to connect much more effectively to growing corporate demand for carbon solutions.”
As noted in the update, Wollemi is “a global climate specialist investment firm. Wollemi is focused on investing in and supporting climate solutions businesses in the food and agriculture, energy transition, natural capital, and climate services sectors, with an aim of reducing or abating global greenhouse gas emissions.”
Wollemi’s team has “been at the forefront of climate investing for over 10 years, bringing together an unparalleled combination of industry experts with deep investor knowledge and operational expertise.”