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RKE is a leading toll road operator in China
CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) is pleased to announce that CVC Asia Fund IV has entered into binding agreements to invest the USD equivalent of HKD 2,000,000,000 (subject to adjustment) of new capital for 25% in RKE International Holdings Limited (“RKE”). RKE is a subsidiary of RKI, a Hong Kong listed property development and infrastructure conglomerate.
RKE is a leading toll road operator in China with a portfolio of five expressways spanning 340km and strategically located in important economic corridors across four provinces.
William Zen, Chairman of RKE, said: “Today is an important milestone in the further development of RKE. CVC Capital Partners is a leading global private equity firm with an outstanding regional network and track record, and we are confident that this partnership will help us further our expansion opportunities in China and across South East Asia.”
Kevin Xu, Managing Director at CVC, added: “RKE is a leading toll road operator with a strong portfolio and good growth prospects. We have great admiration for the chairman William Zen and his vision to grow the company further. We are very excited about the opportunity to work with him to take RKE to the next level”.
London and Madrid, 30 July 2018 – KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announces the divestment of its 18.2% equity stake in Saba Infraestructuras (“Saba”) to Criteria Caixa, Saba’s existing majority shareholder.
Headquartered in Barcelona, Saba is an industrial operator of urban mobility solutions, specializing in car park management. The business employs more than 1,500 people across Europe and Latin America, and generated revenues of €213m and EBITDA of €100m in 2017.
KKR originally acquired its equity stake in Saba through two transactions in 2011 and 2012, and has worked closely with other shareholders Criteria, Torreal and Proa and with Saba’s management team to help the business transform its operations and achieve its growth objectives. Since its investment, KKR has supported Saba’s international growth through expansion into Portugal, Italy, and Chile, and has helped Saba exit its logistics parks businesses to focus on winning and extending contracts in its car parking business.
Saba has also been supported by specific expertise from KKR Capstone and KKR Capital Markets, who helped Saba deliver cost efficiencies and optimise its capital structure to provide a firm foundation for future growth.
Tara Davies, Member and Head of European Infrastructure at KKR, said “We are delighted to have contributed to reinforcing Saba’s leading position in the sector. The business has transformed since 2011 and we are confident that it is well-positioned for continued strong growth in the future.”
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Director at KKR and Head of the Madrid office, said “KKR has leveraged the full strength of its platform and capability to support Saba over the past years, demonstrated by the strength of its recent performance. The partnership with Saba builds on KKR’s track record of supporting leading Spanish businesses with their operations and growth strategy.”
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
Media Contacts
UK / International
Alastair Elwen
Finsbury
Phone: +44(0)20 7251 3801
Email: alastair.elwen@finsbury.com
Spain Javier Curtichs
Tinkle
Phone: +34 91 702 10 10
Email: jcurtichs@tinkle.es
The EQT Infrastructure III fund (“EQT Infrastructure”) has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Holding d’Infrastructures des Métiers de l’Environnement (“HIME”), the holding company of SAUR Group (“SAUR” or the “Group”) from its current shareholders including BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE. BNP Paribas will invest as minority shareholder alongside EQT Infrastructure in SAUR.
SAUR, founded in 1933, is a leader in the outsourced French water supply and treatment market. The Group serves approximately 7,000 French local authorities under long-term contracts with focus on small and mid-sized municipalities. SAUR also has an international footprint with presence in Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, and Poland, among others. With approximately 9,000 employees, SAUR provides service to around 13 million consumers in France and worldwide. The Group had net revenues of around EUR 1.29 billion in 2017.
As a shareholder with a long-term, industrial and responsible ownership approach, EQT Infrastructure intends to bring SAUR unique opportunities to develop further and return to sustained growth across its geographical markets.
Matthias Fackler, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, says: “EQT has followed SAUR for many years, it is a well-positioned company in an attractive market with significant development potential. We aim to unlock this by working together with SAUR’s dedicated management and employees leveraging on the company’s proven agility, operational network and proximity to customers. EQT’s industrial network will provide complementary experiences in water infrastructure management, digitalization and sustainable development.”
Lennart Blecher, Deputy Managing Partner at EQT and Head of EQT Real Assets, continues: “We are both proud and humble about being in exclusive negotiations to become the owner of SAUR. EQT strongly believes that we will be able to add value thanks to the deep sector and operational experience among EQT’s industrial advisors. The investment will also be an important next step for EQT’s overall expansion into France, following a number of high-profile real estate acquisitions. We see it as a very interesting market with vast investment opportunities relevant for EQT’s approach of active and engaged ownership.”
Louis-Roch Burgard, Executive Chairman of SAUR, says: “This shareholding evolution is a major step which will enable us to reinforce our development perspectives in line with our Initiative 2022-ambitions. We are convinced that the combination of EQT’s expertise in infrastructure and our operator’s experience will be a key lever to contribute to the Group’s growth, both in France and abroad, and will serve the interest of all our employees. This evolution perfectly meets the Group’s willingness to carry on with their commitment to their clients, be they local authorities or consumers, to offer them an innovative local service part of a social responsibility approach.”
The transaction, which will be EQT Infrastructure’s first investment in France, will be contingent upon the standard regulatory approvals and is subject to the required Works Councils consultations. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details related to the transaction. The transaction could be finalized by the end of 2018.
Rothschild is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Clifford Chance as legal advisor to EQT Infrastructure.
Contacts
Matthias Fackler, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, +49 89 255 499 505
EQT Press office +46 8 506 55 334
Brunswick Paris Benoit Grange and Hugues Boeton Tel: +33 1 53 96 83 83
Mail: eqtfrance@brunswickgroup.com
About EQT
EQT is a leading investment firm with approximately EUR 50 billion in raised capital across 27 funds, EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.
More info: www.eqtpartners.com
About Saur
As a longstanding environmental services leader, SAUR serves local authorities and industrial companies in the successful implementation of development projects in water supply and treatment, environmental services (engineering, infrastructure services). SAUR worldwide presence Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Poland. 2017 key figures (excluding waste management): EUR 1.29 billion Group net revenue, 7,000 local authorities contracted, 9,000 employees and 13 million consumers in France and worldwide.
More info: www.saur.com
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Toronto, 17 July 2018 – DIF Infrastructure V is pleased to announce the acquisition from Syncora Holdings Ltd. of a 100% stake in American Roads LLC. |
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American Roads is an infrastructure holding company that owns and operates, through its subsidiaries, four toll bridges in Alabama and a concession-lease of the U.S. side of an international tunnel crossing connecting Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. DIF was advised by Allen & Overy (Legal), Agentis Capital (Financial), Buro Happold (Traffic), BTY (Technical) and Marsh (Insurance). Financing for the investment was provided by ING and National Australia Bank (NAB). Paul Huebener, Partner and Head of Americas, said: ”DIF is pleased to invest in this high-quality portfolio of tolled crossings led by a strong management team.” |
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About DIF
DIF has over 100 professionals in eight offices, located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Sydney and Toronto. Please see www.dif.eu for further information. For more information by press and investors, please contact: Allard Ruijs Paul Huebener |
Ufinet International (‘the Company’), a leading independent fibre network operator, today announces that Enel, the multinational power company, has signed an agreement to invest €150 million for a 21% stake in the Company.
This follows the announcement on 14 May 2018 that international private equity firm, Cinven (through its Sixth Fund), agreed to acquire Ufinet International for an undisclosed consideration. Post-completion, Cinven will retain a 79% majority shareholding in the Company.
Ufinet International provides fibre infrastructure and transmission services to telecom operators across 14 countries including Colombia, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Its international connectivity network has more than 49,200 kilometres of optical fibre deployed across major cities in the regions in which it operates.
Enel is a leading integrated player in the global power, gas and renewables markets. It is Europe’s largest utility and one of Europe’s leading power companies. Operating across more than 30 countries worldwide with around 72 million customers, it is one of the major independent operators in the energy sector of South America, where it serves more than 26 million customers. It operates in the generation, distribution and transmission sectors through its subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. It is also one of the leading players in the region’s green energy sector.
The partnership between Ufinet International and Enel represents the opportunity to create the largest telecom infrastructure company in Latin America, with significant strategic benefits for Ufinet International, including:
Ufinet International will continue to be led CEO, Iñigo García del Cerro, who said:
“In the past three years, Ufinet International has scaled its network in key Latin American countries. We are now able to leverage our infrastructure to provide new services to our customers, to consolidate and further grow our strong market position, and create additional value for our shareholders.”
“We are delighted to be forming a strategic partnership with Enel who is investing in the business alongside our majority shareholder Cinven. This will enable us to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities in the nascent Latin American markets organically and through acquisition, by combining our knowledge and technologies. We believe this is a very positive development for Ufinet International, its employees, partners and customers.”
18 Jun 2018
The Board of TRIG is pleased to announce that it has acquired an onshore wind farm in the UK, Solwaybank, located in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Solwaybank is in the early stages of construction and expected to become operational in Q1 2020. Once complete, Solwaybank will comprise 15 Senvion MM100 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 2.0MW, amounting to 30MW.
Solwaybank will be one of few onshore wind farms in the UK to benefit from the attractive Contract for Difference tariff (“CfD”) which fixes the power price during the first 15 years of operations. Solwaybank has an allocated strike price of £82.50 per MWh in 2012 prices (equivalent to £91.14 in current prices).
The project was acquired from TRIG’s Operations Manager, RES, pursuant to TRIG’s right of first offer agreement. The total consideration for the project is expected to be approximately £82 million, including construction costs. Of this, £39 million was invested at acquisition, partly funded through a drawdown of the Group’s revolving acquisition facility which now stands at £134 million drawn. The project does not have any third-party project level debt.
Following this acquisition, TRIG’s construction exposure is 12% of its portfolio value, measured on a fully invested basis. By the year-end, this exposure is expected to reduce to c.7%.
The Investment Manager is evaluating a strong pipeline of investment opportunities for the Company in wind and solar assets in the UK, Ireland, France and Scandinavia.
Richard Crawford, Director, Infrastructure at InfraRed Capital Partners, said:
“Solwaybank is an important addition for the TRIG portfolio, being its first CfD wind farm in the UK. Together with the two French wind farms acquired last week, Solwaybank enhances the Company’s revenue visibility as part of a balanced portfolio. The windfarm is being constructed by RES who have an impressive track record in developing and building renewable energy assets.”
For the RNS issued by TRIG, please follow the link.
InfraRed Capital Partners Limited
+44 (0) 20 7484 1800
Richard Crawford
Phil George
Tulchan Communications
+44 (0) 20 7353 4200
Martin Pengelley
Latika Shah
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG)
The Renewables Infrastructure Group (“TRIG” or the “Company”) is a leading London-listed renewable energy infrastructure investment company. The Company seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive long-term, income-based return with a positive correlation to inflation by focusing on strong cash generation across a diversified portfolio of predominantly operating projects. TRIG is targeting an aggregate dividend of 6.50 pence per Ordinary Share for the year to 31 December 2018.
TRIG is invested in a portfolio of 61 renewables projects (including onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and power storage projects) in the UK and Northern Ireland, France and the Republic of Ireland, with aggregate net output capacity of 938 MW following completion of its assets under construction.
Further details can be found on TRIG’s website at www.trig-ltd.com.
InfraRed Capital Partners Limited (InfraRed)
TRIG’s Investment Manager is InfraRed, which has successfully invested in over 200 infrastructure projects since 1997. InfraRed is a leading global investment manager focused on infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from offices in London, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul and Sydney. With around 130 professionals it manages in excess of USD 10bn of equity capital in multiple private and listed funds, primarily for institutional investors across the globe. InfraRed is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The infrastructure investment team at InfraRed consists of c. 80 investment professionals with an infrastructure investment background and a broad range of relevant skills, including private equity, structured finance, construction, renewable energy and facilities management.
Further details can be found on InfraRed’s website, www.ircp.com.
London, 11 June 2018 – DIF Infrastructure III and DIF Infrastructure IV are pleased to announce that they have jointly signed an agreement with HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, to sell a 7.2% indirect stake in Atlandes, the project company which holds the A63 road concession project. The acquisition is not subject to any further conditions and will complete later this month.
The project is a 40-year toll concession to design, build, finance, operate and maintain an upgraded 104km section of the A63 highway between Salles and Saint-Geours-de-Maremne in southwest France. The project was fully commissioned in November 2013, seven months ahead of plan. In June 2015 the project’s senior debt was successfully refinanced with long term debt.
DIF Infrastructure IV will continue to hold a 9.22% stake in the A63 project.
Andrew Freeman, Head of Exits, said: “This is an attractive exit for DIF III and DIF IV, following the successful exit of the whole portfolio of DIF II and a number of DIF III assets which completed last September. In the next 12 months DIF is proactively targeting to sell further assets from its more mature funds taking advantage of strong demand for high quality core infrastructure projects in mature markets.”
DIF were advised by De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Legal).
About DIF
DIF is an independent and specialist infrastructure investor and fund manager, with €5.6 billion assets under management across seven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in the global infrastructure market through two differentiated and complementary strategies:
DIF has a team of over 95 professionals in eight offices, located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Sydney and Toronto, through which it covers its target markets with dedicated local teams. Please see www.dif.eu for further information.
For more information by press and investors, please contact:
Allard Ruijs
Partner, Head of Investor Relations and Business Development
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu
For more information about further exits, please contact:
Andrew Freeman
Managing Director, Head of Exits
Email: a.freeman@dif.eu
Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to invest a total of AUD 700 million in the development of a large-scale renewable energy platform in Australia on behalf of its clients. The platform, which will be known locally as Grassroots Renewable Energy Platform (“Grassroots”), will be seeded with the 270MW Sapphire Wind Farm project and will in addition construct over 1.3GW of new wind power, solar power and battery storage assets across Australia within the next four years. To realize the Grassroots platform, Partners Group has teamed with local developer CWP Renewables (“CWP”), also an investor in the project.
Partners Group first joined forces with CWP in 2016 when it announced an AUD 250 million investment into Sapphire Wind Farm, a 270MW development project located in the state of New South Wales. Sapphire Wind Farm, which is due to be completed by October 2018, will generate enough energy to power 110,000 Australian households and offset over 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions during every year of operation. There are also plans to launch a community co-investment project at Sapphire Wind Farm in late 2018, which will enable members of the neighboring community to participate in the financial benefits from the sale of renewable electricity.
The second project under the Grassroots platform will be Crudine Ridge Wind Farm, a 135MW construction-ready wind farm near Mudgee in New South Wales. Construction will begin in May 2018 and will be completed by September 2019. Crudine Ridge Wind Farm will consist of 37 GE 3.63MW turbines and, once operational, will provide a further 400GWhrs of annual power output to the grid, enough to serve 55,000 homes. Half of this energy has been sold to Powershop, an Australian electricity provider that provides 100% green energy to its retail customers. The wind farm is also expected to support 75 full-time equivalent jobs during construction, stimulating further investment in local businesses and services, and deliver more than eight million tonnes of carbon emissions abatement over its lifetime.
In addition to Crudine Ridge Wind Farm, there are a number of other pipeline projects for Grassroots, which comprise a combination of wind, solar and battery storage assets.
Benjamin Haan, Partner, Head Private Infrastructure Asia-Pacific, Partners Group, states: “When we invested in Sapphire Wind Farm, one of the key attractions for us was the project’s potential to anchor an Australian renewable energy platform. Partners Group and CWP have a project pipeline of 1.3GW in generation capacity across wind and solar power, offering the scope to be selective and develop Grassroots into a quality renewables platform of significant scale. We look forward to working with the CWP team to further support the generation of clean energy in Australia.”
To-date, Partners Group has developed around 2GW of solar and wind energy capacity on behalf of its clients across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia. Previous investments include a 550MW Taiwanese solar power development platform and the 240MW Ararat Wind Farm development in Australia, which Partners Group invested into in August 2016 and June 2015, respectively. Most recently, Partners Group announced the sale of its stake in Japan Solar, a 610MW platform of Japanese Solar power assets, which the firm had invested into in 2013.
Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, is leading a consortium of investors in the acquisition of Techem GmbH (“Techem” or “the Company”), a global market leader in the provision of heat and water sub-metering services. Partners Group, which will invest on behalf of its private equity and infrastructure clients, will be joined in the acquisition by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers'”) as well as Techem’s management team. The consortium is acquiring Techem from Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2, which acquired 100% of the Company in 2008. The transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, values Techem at an enterprise value of EUR 4.6 billion.
Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Eschborn, Germany, Techem caters to a global client base of real estate operators and private home owners from its 150 branches in more than 20 countries. Its principal Energy Services business provides services and devices for the metering and billing of energy and water, plus device sales, hire and maintenance. In addition, its Energy Contracting business delivers heat, cooling, flow energy and light, as well as the planning, set-up, financing and operation of energy systems and energy monitoring and controlling services. Techem is the market leader in Germany, the largest sub-metering market in the world, as well as in an additional 13 European markets. Techem solutions today account for 6.9 million tons of CO2 emission savings per year, thus contributing to global climate protection objectives. In the 2016/17 financial year, Techem’s 3,640 employees serviced 11 million apartments worldwide, recording sales of EUR 782.7 million.
Following the close of the acquisition, Partners Group together with CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’ will work with Techem’s management team, led by Frank Hyldmar, to support the development of the Company in existing markets and expand its presence geographically. One value creation initiative will focus on the introduction of new technologies to Techem’s strong existing platform and installed base to enhance the customer experience. There will also be a continued focus on customer services and quality excellence programs as the Company grows.
Frank Hyldmar, CEO of Techem, comments: “A decade after delisting from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Techem can show a solid track record of growth. However, even with our market-leading position today, we believe there is plenty of future growth potential for our Company and look forward to working with Partners Group, an experienced private equity and infrastructure investor, as well as its strategic partners CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’, to realize our ambitions and deliver an exceptional service to our customers around the world.”
Jürgen Diegruber, Partner, Private Equity Europe, Partners Group, adds: “Techem is a market leader in a growing industry with strong tailwinds. With increasing global awareness of energy usage, Techem’s products and services are a key element of the fight against energy waste, enabling heating and energy supplies to be managed in a more precise and sustainable manner. We look forward to working with Frank Hyldmar and his talented team, as well as with our partners CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’, to expand Techem’s market-leading position.”
Stéphane Etroy, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity, CDPQ, says: “Energy efficiency, which is at the center of Techem’s offering, is key to building a sustainable future. Given CDPQ’s desire to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, investing in Techem is a very attractive opportunity for us. Techem’s business model positions it to benefit from growing urbanization and demand for housing energy efficiency, over the long term. We are confident that together with Techem’s solid management team, Partners Group, and Ontario Teachers’, the company will continue on its path of success.”
Jo Taylor, Senior Managing Director International, Ontario Teachers’, comments: “Techem is a well-positioned business that looks set for continued domestic and international growth. It serves the growing, global need for energy conservation and empowers users in multi-occupancy properties to have greater control over their own energy consumption by providing accurate billing. Ontario Teachers’ has a strong track record in the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as significant experience in the sub-metering space and we are delighted to partner with Techem’s innovative management team and with Partners Group and CDPQ.”
