United States  : Silver Lake, the global leader in private investments in technology and technology-enabled industries, has announced that it will launch Silver Lake Kraftwerk (“SLKW”), a new investment strategy focused on providing growth capital to business innovators in the energy and resource sectors. Soros Fund Management LLC will join Silver Lake as a strategic partner in the new initiative, which will be led by Adam Grosser, an investment veteran who served for a decade as a General Partner at Foundation Capital.

Operating out of offices in Silicon Valley and China, the new strategy will invest in companies that leverage technology and business model innovation to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste and emissions, harness renewable energy, and more efficiently use natural resources, among other applications. Mr. Grosser will be joined by a team of dedicated investment professionals, including Cathy Zoi, who recently announced her resignation as the Obama administration’s Acting Under Secretary for Energy and Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Ms. Zoi will join SLKW in April, 2011.

“We are excited to launch Silver Lake’s fourth investment strategy, this one focused on the energy and resource sectors, where we will target growth stage companies with proven technologies and business models,” said Greg Mondre, a Silver Lake Managing Director and member of the investment committee for the new business. “There are many parallels between the development of the technology sector and the innovation that is occurring in the energy and resource sectors today. We have been actively planning our expansion for some time, and believe that Adam Grosser’s formidable expertise and vision combined with Silver Lake’s global investment platform will offer the companies we invest in a compelling partner to grow their businesses, both in developed and emerging markets.” Mr. Mondre added: “Our goal with this new initiative is to match Silver Lake’s established leadership in large cap and middle market technology investing with a new strategy we believe will drive growth around the world in coming decades.”

“Silver Lake is synonymous with best-in-class global technology investing,” said Mr. Grosser. “With Silver Lake Kraftwerk we have the opportunity to establish a leadership position investing in businesses that are redefining the future of energy production, management, and consumption, one of today’s most vital and critically important arenas for global investment.” Over a ten year career at Foundation Capital, Mr. Grosser participated in investments in and was a board member of category leaders such as EnerNOC, Silver Spring Networks, Calix, and Peribit. As part of the cleantech team, he also helped to establish a widely regarded and differentiated cleantech investment practice. Mr. Grosser has 28 years of experience in a broad array of technology companies including Apple, Lucasfilm, and @Home Network.

“Developing alternative sources of energy and achieving greater energy efficiency is both a significant global investment opportunity and an environmental imperative,” said George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC. “We are excited to partner with Silver Lake and Adam Grosser, who together provide deep domain expertise and investment experience in the technology and clean technology sectors.”