A consortium consisting of Infranode, Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) and Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, is to acquire Oslofjord Varme AS, 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 per cent) and Fredrikstad Fjernvarme (35 per cent).
“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 per cent ownership respectively, while Norway’s largest life insurance company KLP has a 15 per cent 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).
