Octopus Energy to Spin Off Kraken in Deal Valuing Platform at $8.65 Billion

Core Insights - Octopus Energy Group is spinning out its Kraken technology arm, valuing it at $8.65 billion after a $1 billion equity raise led by D1 Capital Partners [1][2] - Kraken will operate independently with its own governance and capital structure, while Octopus Energy retains a 13.7% minority stake [2][5] - The separation aims to eliminate conflicts for utilities competing with Octopus in retail markets and allows Kraken to scale as an independent technology provider [5] Company Developments - Kraken has become a significant technology platform in the global utilities sector, serving over 70 million customer accounts worldwide through licensing agreements [3][4] - The platform processes over 15 billion data points daily and has surpassed $500 million in contracted annual revenue, quadrupling in three years [4] - Clients include major utilities such as EDF Energy, E.ON Next, and National Grid, indicating Kraken's expansion into broader infrastructure operations [4] Industry Trends - The demerger reflects a trend in the energy sector where digital platforms are increasingly valued independently from traditional operations [6] - Utilities are under pressure to modernize IT systems and improve customer engagement, making advanced data and AI platforms critical [6] - There is growing private capital interest in energy software companies as utilities increase spending on digitization to meet decarbonization and regulatory demands [7]