Tag Archives: infrastructure

Apollo Infrastructure Funds Acquire Majority Stake in Modern Aviation

Apollo logo

Tiger Infrastructure Partners and Modern Aviation Management to Reinvest as Part of Transaction

NEW YORK, Nov. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo (NYSE: APO), Tiger Infrastructure Partners (“Tiger”) and Modern Aviation (the “Company” or “Modern”) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Apollo-managed infrastructure funds (the “Apollo Funds”) to acquire a majority stake in Modern Aviation, a fixed base operator (FBO) platform serving business and general aviation, as well as commercial, cargo and military aircraft at airports across North America. Tiger Infrastructure Partners, which currently owns Modern Aviation, and the Company’s management team will each reinvest alongside the Apollo Funds. Together, these investments will significantly bolster Modern Aviation’s shareholder base to support future strategic growth initiatives.

Founded in 2018, Modern Aviation has grown to become one of the preeminent national networks of premium FBO properties. The Company, led by CEO Mark Carmen and a highly experienced management team, operates a strategically curated portfolio of 16 sites today and serves a diversified customer base across various aviation segments.

Apollo Partner Dave Cohen said, “We are excited for Apollo funds to acquire Modern Aviation, working with Tiger, Mark and the entire team to support the business in its next phase of growth. Modern Aviation is known for its excellent client service and has built a strong infrastructure network with clear growth prospects across new and existing locations. We look forward to leveraging our deep experience investing in infrastructure and aviation assets to help the Company execute on its strategic plans.”

Modern Aviation CEO Mark Carmen said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Apollo team and we appreciate Tiger’s continued support as they have been with us since Modern was just an idea. Together, we are committed to executing Modern’s strategy of supporting our customers in a safe environment, investing in our 16 existing locations and growing our network. I’d like to thank all of our Modern Aviation team members, whose steadfast dedication to customer service and safety drive our success.”

Tiger Senior Managing Director Adam Emmert said: “We’ve been pleased to work collaboratively with the Modern management team for over six years. In the early years, the senior team co-located with us in our New York offices as we worked closely to launch the Modern platform. It has been rewarding for us to help Modern grow from a small team with a single location into one of the leaders in the U.S. FBO industry. We are excited to continue our productive collaboration with Mark, Dan, Emmanuel and the rest of the Modern team with our new partners at Apollo.”

The acquisition will be the latest investment for Apollo’s growing infrastructure franchise, which brings the scale, expertise and capital markets capabilities of Apollo’s investment platform to the middle market. The team focuses on mid-market businesses and assets, and key investment themes include the global energy transition, digital infrastructure, global supply chain and sustainable living. Across its platform, Apollo Funds and affiliated entities have deployed more than $12 billion into aviation industry investments.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close by year-end. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds. Winston & Strawn LLP and Lowenstein Sandler LLP acted as legal counsel and Harris Williams served as financial advisor to Tiger and Modern Aviation.

About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade to private equity with a focus on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of September 30, 2023, Apollo had approximately $631 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

About Tiger Infrastructure Partners
Tiger Infrastructure Partners is an innovative private equity firm focused on providing transformational growth capital to middle market infrastructure companies. Tiger’s value-add approach targets growth investments across the Digital Infrastructure, Energy Transition and Transportation sectors in North America and Europe, where Tiger believes strong tailwinds are driving demand for new infrastructure. Tiger maintains offices in New York and London. For more information, visit www.tigerinfrastructure.com.

About Modern Aviation
Modern Aviation is a growing company that is building a national network of premium FBO properties. Modern Aviation’s strategy is to acquire and develop FBO operations in growth markets and to focus on providing exceptional service, extraordinary quality, and industry leading safety. Modern Aviation is actively engaged in pursuing additional FBO acquisitions and development opportunities in North America and the Caribbean. For more information visit: https://modern-aviation.com

Apollo Contacts

Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
Communications@apollo.com

Tiger Infrastructure Partners Contacts
Nyssa Kourakos
NK Strategies
(917) 364-5531
nyssa@nkstrategies.com

Modern Aviation Contacts

Emmanuel Yapo
Executive Vice President
Modern Aviation
eyapo@modern-aviation.com


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Source: Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Released November 2, 2023

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KKR To Invest $400 Million In Leading Neutral Subsea Telecommunications Cable Services Provider OMS Group

KKR

Transaction builds on KKR’s strong momentum in Southeast Asia digital infrastructure

SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, and the parent company of OMS Group (or the “Company”), a leading telecom infrastructure company and provider of subsea cable services, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will commit $400 million in a tailored solution for OMS Group. This marks KKR’s latest digital infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia, underlining its conviction in the role digitalization plays in the region’s burgeoning internet economy.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231029552367/en/

Founded in 1988, OMS Group is a neutral provider of integrated solutions for subsea telecommunications cable services, including installation and maintenance projects. The Company maintains a more-than-three-decades track record of providing mission-critical services to clients including major subsea equipment providers, large-scale cloud service providers, and telecom companies, and is internationally accredited for its quality management system.1 Today, OMS Group is one of the largest independent operators in this sector, with a diverse fleet including cable ships and cable barges, as well as cable landing stations serving the global telecommunications market.

KKR’s investment positions OMS Group well to accelerate its growth, including through expanding its fleet size and capabilities and investing in cable landing stations and subsea cable routes to serve global fast-growing cross-border data transmission trends and the demand for comprehensive subsea cable services.

Mr Projesh Banerjea, Director, Infrastructure at KKR, said, “OMS Group has established itself as a market leader with a longstanding track record of success and growth in Southeast Asia. As demand for greater connectivity across the region continues to grow, we are delighted to work closely with Datuk Lim, Mr Ronnie Lim, and the highly rated OMS Group team to meet this critical need. Our tailored solution for OMS Group also creates strong adjacencies with KKR’s recent digital infrastructure investments and builds on long-term secular tailwinds in the region, including increased data consumption, enterprise cloud needs, a focus on digitalization by governments, and a booming digital economy. We look forward to sharing our global network and infrastructure expertise to take OMS Group to its next stage of growth.”

Datuk Soon Foo Lim, OMS Group’s Chairman, said, “OMS Group and KKR share the same vision and appreciation of the critical data infrastructure OMS Group builds and maintain for its clients. We look forward to working with Mr David Luboff, Mr Projesh Banerjea and the world-class KKR team in advancing OMS Group’s growth plans.”

Commenting on KKR’s investment, Mr Ronnie Lim, Group CEO, OMS Group, said, “KKR’s investment in OMS Group underscores the value of OMS Group’s capabilities, which provides immense economic value to communities, corporations, and countries around the world by constructing and maintaining critical subsea data infrastructure. Together with KKR’s strong track record in supporting and investing in data infrastructure assets and its platform-building expertise, OMS Group is in a stronger position to support its clients to build and maintain greater global connectivity.”

KKR is making this investment primarily from its Asia infrastructure strategy. This transaction adds to KKR’s track record of investing in digital infrastructure regionally and globally. Past KKR investments in Southeast Asia digital infrastructure have included the regional data center platform of Singtel, a leading Asian communications technology group headquartered in Singapore, and Pinnacle Towers, a digital infrastructure platform in Asia with a strong focus on the Philippines. Globally, KKR’s investments in digital infrastructure have included CyrusOne, a global leader in the development and operation of sustainable, scalable, high-availability and flexible data center solutions, and Global Technical Realty, a build-to-suit and roll-up acquisition data center platform in Europe.

The transaction is expected to be completed by Q1 of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. Additional details of the transaction are not disclosed.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About Optic Marine Group

OMS Group is a global, neutral and integrated telecommunications infrastructure company with a wide range of services covering subsea telecommunications installation and maintenance, digital infrastructure ownership and digital Infrastructure engineering, procurement, maintenance and construction (EPC) under our Interconnect Managed Services division. Our capabilities in submarine fiber-optic cable systems, include installation and repair of deep and shallow water subsea fiber-optic cable systems, permitting in principle acquisitions, project management, direct shore ends, engineering and subsea surveys. We have a strong track record in constructing and owning cable landing stations and terrestrial dark fiber in Southeast Asia.

1 ISO 9001:2015 as certified by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ)

Wei Jun Ong
KKR Asia Pacific
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com

Derek Lim
OMS Group
+603 5569 3881 ext 137
dlim@opticmarine.com

Source: KKR

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Stonepeak Completes Sale of 1.3 Million Square Foot Omni Industrial Campus in Charleston, South Carolina

Stonepeak

NEW YORK, NY – October 24, 2023 – Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, today announced that it has completed the sale of Omni Industrial Campus, a three-building, 1.3 million square foot logistics portfolio in Charleston, South Carolina. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Omni Industrial Campus is strategically located along Interstate 26 between Interstate 95 and the Port of Charleston, which is expected to double in capacity by 2033 as a result of continued share-shift from West Coast ports to East Coast ports, population growth, and growth of manufacturing in the greater Charleston area. The Port’s expansion is driving additional demand for warehouse space from customers entering and expanding in the Charleston market, making Omni Industrial Campus a prime location for customers given its proximity to strategic transportation infrastructure.

“This transaction demonstrates Stonepeak’s ability to identify and execute investments at the intersection of real estate and infrastructure,” said Phill Solomond, Senior Managing Director and Head of Real Estate at Stonepeak. “We leveraged insights from our leading infrastructure platform to build conviction around this submarket, which has seen strong logistics growth as a direct result of the expanding Port of Charleston.”

Stonepeak’s real estate team invests thematically in real estate assets that demonstrate infrastructure characteristics. The team draws on its deep experience from prior leadership positions within leading investment firms to invest behind high conviction sectors including supply chain, residential, healthcare, and technology real estate. Drawing upon the strength and insights of the broader Stonepeak platform, the team targets opportunities supported by strong macro tailwinds that have durable cash flow profiles, embedded demand drivers, high barriers to entry, inflation protection, and are mission critical to the businesses and communities they serve.

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel and JLL Capital Markets served as financial advisor to Stonepeak.

About Stonepeak

Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximately $57.1 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, and to have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates. Stonepeak sponsors investment vehicles focused on private equity and credit. The firm provides capital, operational support, and committed partnership to sustainably grow investments in its target sectors, which include communications, energy and energy transition, transport and logistics, social infrastructure, and real estate. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, London, Singapore, and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.stonepeak.com.

Contacts

Kate Beers / Maya Brounstein
corporatecomms@stonepeak.com
+1 (212) 907-5100

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Ardian and aDryada announce the launch of Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions, a strategy dedicated to large-scale nature-based projects

Ardian

The strategy aims to finance projects to restore forests, wetlands and mangroves in order to sequester large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere through natural carbon sinks.
• The projects are expected to sequester around 150 million tonnes of carbon.
• The sequestered carbon will be used to generate high-quality carbon credits verified by third-party experts.
• The strategy addresses three challenges: carbon sequestration through nature-based solutions, biodiversity enhancement, and social-economic benefits for local populations.

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, and aDryada, a French operator for forest restoration and biodiversity, announce the launch of Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions. This strategy, entirely dedicated to large-scale nature-based projects, aims to generate a significant impact in favor of the climate, biodiversity and in respect to local communities. It will deploy around 1.5 billion euros worth of projects and capital worldwide, mainly in emerging markets and developing economies, as well as local populations.

Ardian and aDryada join forces to build and develop a portfolio of projects by combining their expertise. Together, aDryada and Ardian already benefit from significant experience in investing in energy transition and reforestation projects. They will be able to identify quality projects and support their long-term development with states and local communities.

Since the ratification of the Paris Agreements, governments and companies have adopted ambitious long-term carbon emission reduction targets. Record investments are being made to mitigate future emissions through electrification, low-carbon energy production and efficiency improvements. However, the scale of the challenge demands that carbon sequestration also plays a role both in addressing existing emissions into the atmosphere and in offsetting hard-to-remove future emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C, sequestered emissions must be rapidly scaled up in the short term, enabling the elimination of 0.5 to 1.2 Gt of CO2 per year by 2025, and then 6 to 10 Gt of CO2 per year worldwide.

The voluntary carbon credit market is set to grow strongly over the next few decades, because of the global consensus on the need to rapidly increase the planet’s sequestration capacity and the growing ambitions of economic players in this area. The market for carbon credits is set to grow by a factor of c. 35 between now and 2050. Global demand for voluntary carbon credits has already almost quadrupled over the past five years, rising from 43 mt CO2e in 2017 to 155 mt CO2e in 2022. From this perspective, nature-based solutions, and especially those linked to carbon sequestration in ecosystems and forests, are an essential response to corporate climate and biodiversity objectives, while bringing sustainable economic and social benefits to local communities.

The Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions’ strategy meets the criteria of an impact fund with the aim of reducing global GHG emissions, in accordance with article 9 of the European SFDR regulation.  The Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions fund will be managed by Ardian France, with aDryada acting as advisor.

“Ardian aims to be a world leading investor in nature restoration projects. In line with the Paris Agreement’s objective to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C by 2050, our projects will make an important contribution to capturing around 5Gt per year of unavoidable carbon emissions by that date. With this strategic partnership with aDryada, Ardian brings a rigorous solution that respects local communities to the carbon neutrality and biodiversity preservation objectives of its customers, portfolio companies and industrial partners.” Mathias Burghardt, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Infrastructure, Ardian

“Ardian continues its pioneering commitment to the energy transition with Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions, which benefits from the experience of Ardian’s infrastructure team in investing in climate action and the energy transition, and that of aDryada in developing projects related to biodiversity and the energy transition. Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions aims to invest in long-term forest, mangrove and wetland restoration projects, enabling the sequestration of around 150 million tonnes of carbon and substantial net gains in terms of biodiversity and socio-economic benefits for local populations.” Laurent Fayollas, Deputy Head Infrastructure, Ardian

“Averrhoa Nature-Based Solutions aims to create long-term environmental and social value. aDryada’s track record will enable us to build a portfolio of solid, high-quality projects. We are proud to partner with Ardian in the launch of this strategy which, through its ambition – of the order of 1.5 billion euros invested in quality sequestration projects, particularly in emerging countries – will help accelerate action to combat climate change and restore biodiversity.”  Fabio Ferrari, CEO, aDryada

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $150bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,470 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 16 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last.

ardian.com

ABOUT ADRYADA

Created in 2021 to restore forest and biodiversity, aDryada develops, operates and finances large-scale (> 50 000 ha) nature-based projects (reforestation, land restoration, mangroves, wetlands…) all over the world with a major ambition: having a tangible impact on biodiversity, climate and people’s living conditions, because the three go together.
To reach this goal the company has developed an innovative and efficient business model based on high-end sequestration carbon credits. It unlocks large-scale investments and generates long-term financial flows for stakeholders and partners aDryada works with (governments, leading global financial institutions, corporations, public and non-profit organizations, local private actors, communities).
aDryada’s team is made up of experienced specialists in global forests, new agricultural methods, social practices, finance and public affairs.

adryada.com

MEDIA CONTACTS

ARDIAN

HEADLAND

ardian@headlandconsultancy.com

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Ontario Teachers’ acquires KKR’S stake in Environmental Platform Greencollar

KKR

SYDNEY & TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers’) and KKR, a leading global investment firm today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Ontario Teachers’ will acquire KKR and other shareholders’ stakes in GreenCollar, a leading Australian environmental markets platform. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230917665584/en/

Ontario Teachers’ first became an investor in GreenCollar in March 2022. With this latest investment, Ontario Teachers’ deepens its relationship with GreenCollar, taking on a significant majority stake in the Company, with GreenCollar CEO and Co-founder James Schultz continuing to lead the business and remaining a significant shareholder.

Ontario Teachers’ Natural Resources group, which is part of the Infrastructure and Natural Resources department, has significant experience investing in agriculture, aquaculture, timberland, and natural climate solutions, including in Australia where it has a large agriculture portfolio.

Christopher Metrakos, Senior Managing Director, Natural Resources at Ontario Teachers’, said: “We are pleased to increase our investment in GreenCollar and to continue supporting James and his team in their mission to restore and enhance natural capital in areas like biodiversity and water quality. GreenCollar is a proven leader in delivering positive environmental outcomes with market-based solutions and we are excited to continue supporting the company in its next chapter of growth in Australia and beyond. We’d like to thank the team at KKR for their support and partnership on this investment.”

James Schultz, CEO and Co-Founder of GreenCollar, added, “We look forward to our deepening relationship and collaboration with Ontario Teachers’ and tapping into their knowledge and expertise in the natural resources sector. We also want to extend our sincere gratitude to KKR for their support and commitment over past few years.”

KKR first invested in GreenCollar in 2020 as part of its Global Impact strategy, which focuses on companies that contribute measurable progress toward one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a certified B corporation and provider of environmental initiatives that reduce the impact of climate change, GreenCollar’s core business directly contributes toward SDG 13 (Climate Action) and supports other sustainable goals, including SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

GreenCollar is the first Global Impact Fund investment to implement a broad-scale employee ownership plan. Once the transaction has completed, all employees at GreenCollar will share in the proceeds from the sale under a program that aims to build stronger companies and drive greater financial inclusion through employee ownership and engagement.

George Aitken, Managing Director and Head of KKR Global Impact, Asia Pacific, said, “GreenCollar is a great example of a solutions-oriented business that KKR looks to support through our Global Impact strategy, addressing some of the world’s biggest challenges such as climate change. Together with James, Ontario Teachers’ and the whole team at GreenCollar, we have made great strides in advancing GreenCollar’s important mission. It’s been a fantastic journey. We strongly believe that an ownership mentality among employees can build a stronger culture, create a more engaging experience, and ultimately drive stronger business performance – and the results speak for themselves here. Going forward, we are confident that Ontario Teachers’ and the team will continue building on that success.”

GreenCollar is the latest example of KKR’s focus on employee ownership and engagement as a key driver in building stronger companies and driving greater financial inclusion. Since 2011, KKR-backed companies have awarded billions of total value through broad-based equity programs to over 60,000 non-senior employees across more than 35 companies. In all cases, the employee ownership programs are an incremental benefit and not in exchange for benefits, wages or wage increases.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

KKR was advised by Gilbert & Tobin and UBS. Ontario Teachers’ was advised by Baker & Mackenzie and EY.

About GreenCollar

GreenCollar is a profit-for-purpose organisation, and the leading environmental markets project developer and investor across the climate, water quality, biodiversity and plastics markets in Australia. Founded in 2011, GreenCollar works with landowners and managers throughout Australia to develop projects that create commercial opportunities by generating environmental credits, while caring for the environment. GreenCollar’s management team are widely recognised as thought leaders in the environmental markets industry.

About Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan

Ontario Teachers’ is a global investor with net assets of C$249.8 billion as at June 30, 2023. We invest in more than 50 countries in a broad array of assets including public and private equities, fixed income, credit, commodities, natural resources, infrastructure, real estate and venture growth to deliver retirement income for 336,000 working members and pensioners.

With offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 400 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.4% since the plan’s founding in 1990. At Ontario Teachers’, we don’t just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

Media:

GreenCollar
Nerida Bradley
+61 414 966 129
nerida.bradley@greencollar.com.au

Ontario Teachers’
Dan Madge
+1 416 419-1437
media@otpp.com

KKR
Wei Jun Ong
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com

Citadel-MAGNUS (for KKR Australia)
James Strong
+61 (0)448 881 174
jstrong@citadelmagnus.com

Source: KKR

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KKR Invests in Zenobē to Accelerate Global Transport Decarbonisation and Provide Essential Grid Services

KKR
  • KKR to invest approximately $750m to scale Zenobē across two of the largest decarbonisation market opportunities in infrastructure – fleet electrification and battery storage solutions
  • KKR and current majority shareholder, Infracapital, to become joint majority shareholders in a strategic partnership; Infracapital to reinvest into the business
  • Investment is the first through KKR’s global climate strategy, dedicated to scaling net-zero solutions and transitioning higher emitting assets

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced it is investing approximately $750m to scale Zenobē, a market leader in transport electrification and battery storage solutions, to accelerate the global decarbonisation of diesel fleets and provide grid services that are critical for the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Plc and current majority shareholder, will invest further alongside KKR and the management team, with KKR and Infracapital becoming joint majority shareholders. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

KKR’s investment in Zenobē is the first to be made through the firm’s global climate strategy, which is part of KKR’s $54 billion global Infrastructure business and dedicated to investing in solutions at scale to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, Zenobē is a global player in electrification solutions for fleets and battery storage solutions for grid network infrastructure, with leading positions in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and a growing presence in continental Europe. Today, Zenobē is one of the leading fleet electrification platforms in the world, helping bus and increasingly HGV operating companies to decarbonise their fleets and meet emission-reduction objectives.

Zenobē’s EV fleet business provides end-to-end solutions to transition conventional internal combustion engine vehicles to electric, including financing of chassis, batteries on the vehicles, and charging infrastructure in depots, complemented with an integrated software solution. Through its network infrastructure business, Zenobē develops and builds large scale batteries that connect to transmission grids, providing essential grid services to complement the growth of intermittent low carbon energy generation and allowing economies to achieve their net zero ambitions, without compromising the grid stability.

Decarbonising transportation, reducing pollution in big cities and towns and meeting national net-zero targets will require substantial investment and a rapid shift to electric vehicles. The transport sector is the largest source of carbon emissions globally, resulting in tightening regulations related to emissions by public transport.

KKR plans to work with Zenobē to meet the growing demand for EV adoption from bus operators and other commercial fleet businesses globally. KKR also expects to help Zenobē expand its grid-scale battery storage capacity through the construction and expansion of new and existing sites. The investment will help Zenobē to build on its leadership positions in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, while continuing to grow across continental Europe, and also expand into North America.

Alberto Signori, Partner in KKR’s European Infrastructure team, said: “This is a rare opportunity to support a clear leader in transport decarbonisation and battery storage, two sectors which are critical in driving the transition to a net-zero world. As a significant contributor to the decarbonisation of our economies, Zenobē is an exemplary first investment in KKR’s global climate strategy which seeks to scale up businesses at the forefront of delivering real-world solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Zenobē’s management team and Infracapital have built a unique and hard to replicate global platform, and we look forward to working alongside them to further scale the business internationally.”

Shreya Malik, Director in KKR’s European Infrastructure team, added: “We believe Zenobē will continue to benefit from strong secular tail winds including stricter emission regulation in urban and regional areas, and the greater use of low carbon generation in the energy mix driving a need for grid balancing solutions. We see significant growth opportunities within Zenobē’s existing customer base, as well as huge potential in new markets globally. We are excited to bring our operational expertise within KKR’s global platform to actively support the company in continuing to further build a market leading and climate critical business.”

Nicholas Beatty, Co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said: “This investment acknowledges the significant role that transport decarbonisation and battery storage have to play in our net-zero future. It’s also a significant vote of confidence in our business, its achievements to date and future aims. Batteries are the under-recognised crucial component of our future energy and transport systems, and they’re available now. KKR provides Zenobē with a leading international strategic partner to support our expansion plans, taking our experience in accelerating the electrification of fleets and maximising the uptake of renewables into North America, Europe, Australasia and other markets. It also provides support for our ability to raise further debt funding for these expansion plans.”

Andy Matthews, Head of Greenfield at Infracapital, said: “Since our initial investment in 2020, Infracapital has supported Zenobē’s significant innovation and expansion as it has gone from strength to strength in both the battery storage and transportation sectors. We are delighted to announce our further investment into the business, and to embark on this exciting journey alongside KKR as joint shareholders in Zenobē. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for the business and fulfils our confidence in its ability to continue to play a leading role in sustainable solutions. We look forward to continuing to contribute our expertise and resources to support Zenobē’s further success on a global scale, whilst creating long-term value for our investors.”

With over 15 years of experience in infrastructure investing, and a long history in the industrials space, KKR has deep expertise in renewable energy and climate-related investments. Since 2010, KKR has committed more than $40 billion to sustainability-focused investments, including over $30 billion to climate and environmental sustainability investments, accelerating net-zero solutions such as X-Elio and Sol Systems, building out net-zero platforms in transportation with Q-Park and Ritchies, and driving transitions with investments including Albioma and ContourGlobal.

KKR has been investing in the UK for over two decades, having deployed almost $24 billion in equity across all investment platforms, including almost $5 billion in sustainability-related investments over the past 3 years in investments such as Citation, ERM, John Laing and Viridor.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on X (formerly Twitter) @KKR_Co.

About Zenobē Energy Ltd. (Zenobē)

Zenobē is an EV fleet and grid-scale battery storage specialist, headquartered in the UK. The company began operations in 2017 with three founders and has over the past 6 years increased its staff to >230 FTEs with a wide range of leading skills including electrical engineering, software development, computer sciences and financing. It now operates in Europe and Australasia and is expanding into North America. Zenobē has 430MW of battery storage in operation or under construction with another 1.2GW of projects in advanced development in the UK which equates to circa 20% market share forecast by 2026. It has around 25% market share of the UK EV bus sector and c.1000 electric vehicles supported globally. The company is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Zenobe’s services are supported by market leading financing capability. This has included completing and drawing down against the Fleet private placement in February 2022 which raised over £240 million long term debt for the financing of Fleet customers, principally bus operators in the UK, over up to 16 years. This also included the financing of grid-scale batteries completed in February 2023 which raised £635m of debt including an accordion for the development of Zenobē’s grid-scale battery storage assets in Scotland.

For more information, please visit www.zenobe.com/ or follow on LinkedIn.

About Infracapital

Infracapital invests in, builds and manages a diverse range of essential infrastructure to meet the changing needs of society and support long-term economic growth. We take an active role in all of our investments, whether nascent or large, to fulfil their potential and ensure they are adaptable and resilient. Our approach creates value for our investors, as we target investments with the scope for stable and sustainable growth. Our portfolio companies work closely with the communities where they are based, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Infracapital is well positioned to deliver the significant investment required to help build the future. The founder-led team of experienced specialists has worked with more than 60 companies around Europe and has raised and managed over €7.8 billion of client capital across six funds. Infracapital is part of M&G Plc, an international savings and investments business, managing money for around 5 million retail customers and more than 800 institutional clients in 28 markets. Total assets under management are £342 billion (as at 31 December 2022). https://www.infracapital.co.uk/

KKR
Alastair Elwen
FGS Global
T: +44 20 7251 3801
E: KKR-Lon@FGSGlobal.com

Zenobē
Beth Townsend
Hill + Knowlton Strategies
T: +44 7510 768007
E: Zenobē@hkstrategies.com

Infracapital
Colette Cahill
T: + 44 7500 547034
E: Infracapital@teneo.com

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.

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Bridgepoint adds $20bn infrastructure strategy, as ECP joins platform to build €57bn global alternatives asset manager

Bridgepoint
  • Combined platform will strengthen position as one of the world’s leading private asset growth investors focused on the middle market, spanning private equity, infrastructure and credit with offices across Europe, North America and Asia.
  • Upfront enterprise value of £835 million, comprising 235 million of newly issued Bridgepoint shares, £233 million of cash, and £179 million of ECP’s existing debt.
  • Exceptional ECP leadership and investment team to continue running the ECP business, investing its funds independently under its current brand and delivering strong returns for the enlarged group by continuing the strategy responsible for ECP’s track record to date.

 

Bridgepoint Group plc (LSE: BPT) has taken a decisive step forward in becoming a more diversified alternative asset manager with the addition of Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a leading North American infrastructure investor with an over two-decade-long track record. ECP, which has raised over $30bn of capital since inception in 2005, including more recently in the fast-growing energy transition sector, has a market-leading position in the highly sought-after power generation, renewables, battery storage, environmental infrastructure and sustainability sectors. It operates across North America in an expanding subsegment of infrastructure investing which stands to be a key contributor to and beneficiary of the global decarbonisation effort with forecasted investment in the space expected to reach $1.9 trillion per annum through 2050, creating significant investment tailwinds and multiple potential growth avenues.

ECP and its highly experienced management team add a significant third pillar to the Bridgepoint business and accelerate Bridgepoint’s stated strategy of scaling through both product and geographic diversification. The distinct ECP infrastructure business will continue to operate under its existing brand and be led by its current management and investment team. The strategy will sit alongside Bridgepoint’s private equity and credit businesses and offer LPs more comprehensive immersion across the middle market. Doug Kimmelman, ECP’s Senior Partner and Founder, will continue to lead the infrastructure platform and ECP leadership will join Bridgepoint’s executive team bringing new sector, management and transaction experience to seek to drive further growth.

The transaction will be immediately accretive to Bridgepoint’s shareholders and continue to be accretive over time by diversifying and enhancing Bridgepoint’s earnings profile and profit margins.

The transaction will accelerate ECP and Bridgepoint’s respective growth ambitions in Europe and North America, building upon Bridgepoint’s 24-year history and ECP’s 18-year history and opening exciting new avenues for expansion given the complementary and largely non-overlapping investment strategies and geographic footprints. The combination will also provide opportunities to enhance both organisations’ current operations in different sectors of the credit market. The enlarged group will benefit from new collective strengths and synergies leveraging Bridgepoint’s deep European office network and connections which are likely to create further opportunities for ECP to grow its presence in Europe, capitalising on the continent’s energy transition. Equally, ECP’s well-recognised North American brand, extensive market knowledge and depth of relationships will benefit Bridgepoint.

Commenting on the transaction, William Jackson, Chairman, Bridgepoint said:

“Joining forces with ECP is an important powerful next step in Bridgepoint’s strategic objective of building a globally-scaled, diversified platform in middle-market private assets investing. The transaction accelerates our scale, leadership and strategic development, enhances the quality of the Group’s earnings and margin profile, and provides greater diversification and earnings growth potential for shareholders.

We have a high bar for strategic M&A, and ECP is one of the few platforms we have identified which clearly surpasses it, both from a strategic and financial perspective.

As well as the compelling financial rationale for the transaction, Bridgepoint will benefit from the investing expertise of the ECP team, while, at the same time, there are significant opportunities for both of us to work together on initiatives such as adding adjacent strategies and expanding geographically.”

Doug Kimmelman, Senior Partner and Founder, ECP, said:

“The opportunity to join forces with Bridgepoint is uniquely attractive. Our businesses are not only highly complementary – without any overlapping or conflicting investment strategies – but our firms importantly share a culture of collaboration, integrity and investment excellence making this a highly compelling opportunity for our investors and our employees alike.

We are very fortunate to have access now to a public equity currency to support our growth, while broadening the ownership of ECP across our firm, allowing us to continue attracting and retaining the very best team, especially in a period of heightened interest in the energy transition. All of us at ECP are excited about the combination and the support that this partnership will provide. 

We look forward to working closely with the Bridgepoint team to further enhance our ability to serve our respective clients and grow our firm in a sustainable fashion well into the future.”

Raoul Hughes, Bridgepoint’s Group Managing Partner, said:

“We have enjoyed interacting extensively with ECP over the last year as we have been jointly evaluating a transaction. We have found our cultures and approaches to business to be aligned and we are attracted to ECP’s leading infrastructure position across the rapidly expanding energy transition theme. Together we will offer more diverse revenue streams and greater growth opportunities with accelerating earnings expectations and a broader product mix to offer to our combined LP relationships. We expect ECP to continue on its successful growth path, with new and accelerated opportunities for growth, and the ECP team, under its continuing leadership under Doug and team, will bring an invaluable experience to the Group.”

The transaction, which is expected to close within four to six months, will be funded with units in a new limited partnership exchangeable for Bridgepoint shares and Bridgepoint’s existing balance sheet resources, and will see ECP’s senior management and many of its employees becoming significant shareholders in the company. A share ownership program will be instituted across ECP’s employee base and will be designed in a similar way to the existing structures established at Bridgepoint at the time of its IPO. As a result, ECP partners will collectively become one of Bridgepoint’s largest shareholders, holding 19% of Bridgepoint’s shares pre-earn out and up to 25% assuming full earn-out, ensuring strong alignment with the future success of the platform and in driving shareholder returns. Equity awards being made available to ECP employees will also incentivise future generations of ECP colleagues.

The historic growth of both firms has benefited from the minority investment positions from the funds managed by Blue Owl (formerly Dyal Capital Partners) and as part of this transaction, Blue Owl will convert its share of ECP fee related earnings into Bridgepoint equity, thereby remaining a shareholder in the enlarged group. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will retain its minority interest in ECP’s fee related earnings as the desire remains for both firms to partner in the important Japanese market.

J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Morgan Stanley served as lead financial advisors to Bridgepoint, BNP Paribas acted as joint financial adviser and joint corporate broker to Bridgepoint, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel. Campbell Lutyens served as financial and strategic advisor and Bain & Co served as commercial advisor to Bridgepoint.

BofA Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to ECP, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.

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CVC acquires leading infrastructure manager DIF

CVC Capital Partners

This strategic acquisition provides CVC with a leading infrastructure platform, directly adjacent and highly complementary to its existing private equity, secondary and credit strategies. In addition, this acquisition accelerates the growth of DIF, which will continue to operate under the DIF brand and retain independence over its operations and investment decisions.

CVC, a leading global private markets manager focused on private equity, secondaries and credit is acquiring a majority stake in leading infrastructure manager, DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), and providing a commitment to acquire the remaining shares over time. This combination creates a global private markets manager with seven complementary strategies and approximately €177 billion* of total assets under management.

DIF is headquartered in Amsterdam with €16 billion of assets under management, a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices and operating two different investment strategies – the Core / Build-to-Core funds and the Core-plus funds. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia. The tie-up with CVC will help accelerate growth, as DIF continues to deepen and widen both its investment capabilities, its geographic reach and its global investor base. DIF will continue to be led by its current CEO and Partners and it will continue to operate under the DIF brand.

Commenting on the transaction, CVC Chair and Co-Founder, Rolly van Rappard said: “Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We have known the DIF team for several years, and we are delighted to partner with one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.”

Quotes

Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We are delighted to partner with DIF, one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.

Rolly van Rappard CVC Chair and Co-Founder

Rob Lucas, Managing Partner at CVC added: “We are excited to join forces with DIF, a top-performing global infrastructure manager. DIF’s business model and culture is deeply aligned with our local model, and our new infrastructure platform will prove highly complementary to our leading private equity, secondary and credit strategies. We are pleased to welcome Wim, the DIF Partners and the entire DIF team to the CVC group and together, we look forward to being a global leader in infrastructure.”

Wim Blaasse, CEO and Managing Partner at DIF said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with CVC, which is a natural step in the evolution of DIF and, together with my Partners, I look forward to leading DIF in this next phase of growth. We have known the CVC team for many years, we have been very impressed by everything they have built and we are excited about becoming part of the CVC group. This transaction enables us to benefit from CVC’s global platform, scale and investor relationships, and to double down on important infrastructure sectors like Energy Transition and Digitalisation while retaining independence over our investment decisions.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is expected to close in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. The Dutch works council of DIF has been informed and positively advised on the transaction. Advisers to CVC in this transaction included JPMorgan. DIF’s advisers included, among others, Morgan Stanley & Co. Plc, Loyens & Loeff, PwC and De Brauw.

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DIF – CVC acquires leading infrastructure manager DIF

DIF

This strategic acquisition provides CVC with a leading infrastructure platform, directly adjacent and highly complementary to its existing private equity, secondary and credit strategies. In addition, this acquisition accelerates the growth of DIF, which will continue to operate under the DIF brand and retain independence over its operations and investment decisions.

CVC, a leading global private markets manager focused on private equity, secondaries and credit is acquiring a majority stake in leading infrastructure manager, DIF Capital Partners, and providing a commitment to acquire the remaining shares over time. This combination creates a global private markets manager with seven complementary strategies and approximately €177 billion* of total assets under management.

DIF is headquartered in Amsterdam with €16 billion of assets under management, a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices and operating two different investment strategies – the Core / Build-to-Core funds and the Core-plus funds. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia. The tie-up with CVC will help accelerate growth, as DIF continues to deepen and widen both its investment capabilities, its geographic reach and its global investor base. DIF will continue to be led by its current CEO and Partners and it will continue to operate under the DIF brand.

Commenting on the transaction, CVC Chair and Co-Founder, Rolly van Rappard said: “Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We have known the DIF team for several years, and we are delighted to partner with one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.”

Rob Lucas, Managing Partner at CVC added: “We are excited to join forces with DIF, a top-performing global infrastructure manager. DIF’s business model and culture is deeply aligned with our local model, and our new infrastructure platform will prove highly complementary to our leading private equity, secondary and credit strategies. We are pleased to welcome Wim, the DIF Partners and the entire DIF team to the CVC group and together, we look forward to being a global leader in infrastructure.”

Wim Blaasse, CEO and Managing Partner at DIF said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with CVC, which is a natural step in the evolution of DIF and, together with my Partners, I look forward to leading DIF in this next phase of growth. We have known the CVC team for many years, we have been very impressed by everything they have built and we are excited about becoming part of the CVC group. This transaction enables us to benefit from CVC’s global platform, scale and investor relationships, and to double down on important infrastructure sectors like Energy Transition and Digitalisation while retaining independence over our investment decisions.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is expected to close in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. The Dutch works council of DIF has been informed and positively advised on the transaction. Advisers to CVC in this transaction included JPMorgan. DIF’s advisers included, among others, Morgan Stanley & Co. Plc, Loyens & Loeff, PwC and De Brauw.

 

* Pro forma for recently closed fundraise

 

Contacts

DIF
press@dif.eu

CVC
Patrick Humphris, phumphris@cvc.com
Carsten Huwendiek, chuwendiek@cvc.com

 

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with c.€16 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 225 professionals in 11 offices, DIF combines global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu.

 

About CVC

CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 25 offices throughout EMEA, the Americas and Asia, with approximately €161 billion of assets under management.

CVC has six complementary strategies across private equity, secondaries and credit, for which we have secured commitments in excess of €200 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors across its private equity, credit and secondaries strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in over 125 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately €130 billion and employ more than 450,000 people.

For further information about CVC please visit: www.cvc.com.

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DIF’s portfolio company ruhrfibre signs EUR 120m senior debt financing

DIF

DIF Capital Partners (via its DIF CIF III fund) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company ruhrfibre has closed on a senior debt financing in support of the buildout of a large-scale fibre network in Essen (Germany), targeting around 150,000 households.

DIF announced its investment in ruhrfibre in November 2022, alongside project developer metrofibre and the City of Essen. The project is a game changer to the city in the industrial Ruhr-area in terms of its economic advancement and will accelerate Essen’s development into a smart city.

The financing package comprises senior loans totalling EUR 120m that are provided by a club of senior lenders comprising ING, Kommunalkredit Austria and SEB. There is a further uncommitted accordion facility of EUR 40m to expand the financing. The facilities are structured as a green loan with a dedicated green use of proceed for the financing of climate friendly broadband technology, and as such underpin DIF’s strong commitment to promote sustainable infrastructure.

The successful financing provides further momentum to ruhrfibre’s significant progress in bringing fibre to Essen: In June, ruhrfibre started the construction work in the first two roll-out areas in Essen. “With full financing, the project is now significantly picking up speed”, says Christopher Rautenberg, Managing Director at metrofibre and ruhrfibre. “New roll-out areas will follow in the next few months to meet our goal of connecting 150,000 households, businesses, and public institutions to the fiber-optic network.”  DIF and ruhrfibre were advised by ING, Hogan Lovells, Arthur D. Little and Riskbridge. The lenders were advised by White & Case.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with ca. EUR 17 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 225 professionals in 11 offices, DIF Capital Partners offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu

Contact DIF Capital Partners: press@dif.eu

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