Vandewater was the lead investor and controlling shareholder of AltAir Fuels from 2013 until its sale to World Energy in 2018. Established in 2013, AltAir Fuels was created to produce low carbon fuels and chemicals derived from sustainable feedstock. For its first commercial project, AltAir partnered with Alon Energy USA (now Delek) to retool idled refining equipment on the 62 Acre Paramount refining facility, increasing the nation’s energy supply, while positively impacting the southern California economy.
Through process technology developed by Honeywell’s UOP, AltAir retrofitted an existing refinery to produce renewable biofuel. AltAir has worked extensively with Honeywell’s UOP to demonstrate the commercial viability of the Honeywell Green Jet and Green Diesel process. Utilizing this technology, the AltAir facility is the first refinery globally capable of in-line production of both renewable jet and diesel fuels. The facility converts non-edible natural oils and agricultural waste into 36 million gallons of low-carbon, advanced biofuels and chemicals per year. These advanced biofuels are drop-in replacements that provide the same performance as conventional petroleum-based fuel and require no modification to factory-standard engines or aircraft, with which they are fully compatible.
AltAir Fuels has also created strategic partnerships with the U.S Navy, United Airlines, KLM, Gulfstream and World Fuel Services to offer cost-competitive and sustainable biofuels at commercial scale. These aviation and naval leaders have agreed to purchase more than 100 million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel over a multi-year period.
Investment Exited
www.worldenergy.netVandewater was the lead investor and controlling shareholder of Alley until it sold a majority of its interest in August of 2016, when Verizon (NYSE:VZ) made a substantial equity investment. Alley is a leader in the collaborative work-space sector and operates principally from its 9 coworking communities across the USA including its 50,000 Square foot of state-of-the-art flagship in Chelsea, NY.
www.alley.comThe Crowne Plaza Danbury, winner of the IHG Renovation of the Year Award in 2013 has 243 keys and 26,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including three ballrooms. Vandewater acquired the property in 2010 and pursued a comprehensive renovation and re-branding of the property. From the time of acquisition through divestiture in July 2014 Vandewater was the sole manager of the property.
Investment Exited
www.cpdanbury.comIn 2012, Vandewater acquired the Palo Verde Apartments in West Palm Beach, Florida. Palo Verde Apartments is situated on fourteen acres with 276 garden style apartment units. The 226,000 square foot complex was built in 1973. Vandewater oversaw the renovation, refinancing and divestiture of this asset.
Investment Exited
Jesta Digital is a leading global provider of next generation entertainment, content and services for the digital consumer. Acquired from Newscorp (NASDAQ:NWS), Jesta Digital (formerly known as Fox Mobile Group), was active in eighteen countries with over 700 employees globally. Providing innovative mobile solutions for over a decade, Jesta Digital is home to a number of well-known and established brands including Jamba and Jamster, which deliver branded content, music, games and applications to millions of mobile consumers worldwide. Jesta Digital was sold to Freenet AG (ETR:FNTN) in 2014.
Investment Exited
www.freenet-group.deIdentifying the increased demand from financial institutions for federally mandated liquidity in 2008, JEA Credit Opportunities began acquiring large residential loan portfolios from noteworthy institutions in all fifty states. JEA Credit Opportunities purchased these portfolios of nearly one thousand individual loans, at substantial discounts, and serviced, refinanced and monetized them. Our staff of mortgage brokers worked with individual borrowers to provide interest and principal reductions as well as modifications to the original loan terms providing homeowners across the United States with nearly $50M of loan balance reductions.
In 2016, Vandewater provided growth capital to Xsight Systems, a provider of advanced runway sensor solutions. Xsight’s patented technologies are collocated with runway edge lights and provide a leading solution that improves runway safety and efficiency. Xsight’s systems are currently used in airports such as Boston Logan, Seattle Tacoma, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Tel-Aviv Ben Gurion and Bankok Suvarnabhumi.
www.xsightsys.comEstablished in 2013, Alta Editions is an award-winning digital publisher and pioneer in the production of beautiful, highly engaging and interactive online cookbooks. Its mission is to inspire and inform home cooks by presenting exclusive, professionally edited and tested recipes accompanied by personal stories from top chefs and photos from acclaimed food photographers. The Alta Editions publishing platform was designed to provide a flexible, scalable and low-cost solution for publishing illustrated books in digital format.
Investment Exited
www.altaeditions.comDeveloped in 2013, Motility Ads is a cutting-edge mobile advertising platform supported by a decade of core competency expertise within the mobile consumer landscape. Motility Ads specializes in delivering optimum results for digital marketers through its proprietary technology, leveraging a quantitative approach to mobile data mining, analytics and targeting, as well as a highly effective creative-ad suite connecting mobile and web users to the world’s top brands. Through direct publisher integration, audience targeting and flexible pricing models, Motility Ads ensures optimal campaign performance.
Investment Exited
www.vene.ioTradeFan is an online marketplace system where sport enthusiasts can trade stocks valued by the performance of their favorite teams and players with the same methods of short-selling and buying that take place in traditional financial exchanges.
www.tradefan.comYaroka Technologies is a climate conscious incubator comprised of a team of professionals with experience in geology, forestry, climatology and technology. With our patent pending technologies, Yaroka Technologies aims to develop advanced solutions – including adapted drones, thermo-technology, and synthetic material use – in order to alleviate the deleterious impacts of climate change on our planet.
www.yarokatechnologies.com