Infranode, KLP and Mirova acquire Oslofjord Varme AS
A consortium consisting of Infranode, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (“KLP”) and Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has entered into an agreement to acquire Oslofjord Varme AS (“Oslofjord Varme”), a Norwegian district heating company, from iCON Infrastructure.
Oslofjord Varme builds, owns and operates district heating and cooling systems in the Fornebu, Lysaker and Sandvika area in the Greater Oslo Area – a high growth area with significant real estate development. The company also holds joint venture (“JV”) interests in two district heating businesses: Drammen Fjernvarme (50%) and Fredrikstad Fjernvarme (35%).
“Oslofjord Varme is our second infrastructure investment in Norway and is a great fit with our investment strategy. Oslofjord Varme has strong growth prospects with high emphasis on sustainability, which are key investment characteristics for our investors,” says Philip Ajina, Co-founding Partner in Infranode, a long-term infrastructure investor with focus on the Nordics.
Infranode and Mirova’s Core Infrastructure Fund II are both investing with 25-year ownership horizons and have 42.5% ownership respectively, while Norway’s largest life insurance company KLP has a 15% ownership stake.
“This investment is consistent with our ambition to combine sustainability and community development with long-term and stable returns for our investors. We are pleased to embark on this long-term investment through our Core Infrastructure Fund II with two solid partners in Infranode and KLP that share our dedication to responsible investments,” says Mounir Corm, Deputy Head Infrastructure Funds at Mirova.
Oslofjord Varme was founded in 1989 and, including the JVs, has annual heating sales of approximately 376 GWh and cooling sales of 63 GWh. The combined cooling and heating networks have a total length of 119 kilometres.
“Oslofjord Varme is a new addition to our commitment to sustainable investment and a new step in our endeavour to find attractive investment opportunities that are characterised by stable and predictable cash flows. We are pleased to make this investment with like-minded partners such as Infranode and Mirova.” says Harald Koch-Hagen, Director Strategic Asset Allocation in KLP.
The closing of the transaction is subject to approval from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (“NVE”). The consortium was advised by Macquarie Capital and EY (financial), Wiersholm (legal), Deloitte (accounting and tax), Arup (technical/commercial/ESG) and AON (insurance).
For additional information, please contact:
Philip Ajina, Co-founding Partner, Infranode
philip@infranode.se
+46 70 755 99 78
Erik Botnevik, Country Lead Norway, Infranode
erik.botnevik@infranode.se
+47 91 55 50 58
Mounir Corm, Deputy Head Infrastructure Funds, Mirova
mounir.corm@mirova.com
+33 1 58 55 53 58
Billie Clarricoats, Global Corporate Communications, Natixis Investment Managers
Billie.clarricoats@natixis.com
+44 7880 195 672
Harald Koch-Hagen, Director Strategic Asset Allocation, KLP
harald.koch-hagen@klp.no
+47 975 99 987
About Infranode
Infranode is a long-term infrastructure investor with focus on the Nordics across the energy, transport, telecom and social infrastructure sectors. Infranode’s team includes 10 infrastructure investment professionals with offices in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Oslo. We currently have approximately EUR 450m of capital under management. Our investor base comprises pension and insurance institutions such as the Swedish state’s pension fund 4th AP Fund, Folksam, Swedish municipal pension fund KPA Pension, LähiTapiola, the European Investment Bank, and the IMAS Foundation. Infranode is an affiliate to Areim, an established Nordic real estate fund manager and adviser.
About KLP
Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) was formed in 1949 and is Norway’s largest life insurance company with total assets under management of approximately NOK641bn. KLP delivers and manages public pensions for the majority of Norway’s municipalities, health organizations and government-owned companies. At KLP, considering society, the environment and responsible investments is part of the daily operations.
About Mirova
Mirova is the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to responsible investment. Through a conviction-driven investment approach, Mirova’s goal is to combine value creation over the long term with sustainable development. Mirova’s talents have been pioneers in many areas of sustainable finance. Their ambition is to keep innovating to propose the best tailored and most impactful solutions to their clients. As of December 2017, Mirova has EUR 9 billion total assets under management. With over 15 years’ experience in the structuring and management managing of infrastructure assets, Mirova General infrastructure team provides institutional clients with investment opportunities both in greenfield and brownfield assets while supporting the sustainable development of local economies.
Mirova is a subsidiary of Natixis Asset Management
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