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Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group announces that its sustainable infrastructure platform Infracorp has partnered with leading global investor Equitix to make a strategic investment in Aurora Infrastructure Oy (Aurora); a well-established monopoly power distribution network with two major Finnish Geographically, it also operates one of the largest industrial power distribution networks in the Nordic region.
Aurora serves a blue-chip international industrial client base that is highly committed to the network and has invested over EUR 4.5 billion since 2005 at the company’s two sites (AKO and ATO).
Aurora’s AKO site serves government-backed and/or listed customers in traditional fuels, renewable fuels and chemical products, with key customers being Neste, Borealis, Linde and Veolia.
Also, its ATO network serves Outukumpu, the world’s largest integrated plant and the only fully integrated stainless steel plant.
Aurora’s distribution network represents physically non-fungible assets backed by long-term contractual cash flows, high-margin and semi-regulatory tariff structures, inflation and interest rate pass-through, significant barriers to entry and inelastic demand conditions.
Consistent with Infracorp’s focus, Aurora has a strong ESG foundation and also benefits from the company’s customers’ commitment to ESG principles, as well as a well-publicized strategy for decarbonizing on-site operations based on further electrification.
GFH confirmed the first co-investment in European infrastructure, saying that Infracorp will also be in discussions with Equitix for a future collaboration.
Long-term fund manager for core infrastructure assets. Equitix, with over $11.7 billion in assets under management, is the infrastructure investment arm of Tetragon, a global asset management group that manages $80 billion in assets on behalf of its clients.
From the initial collaboration, Infracorp will further explore possible opportunities to partner with Equitix to invest in selected infrastructure transactions as appropriate.
Any such potential opportunity would help strengthen Infracorp’s global infrastructure investment platform in Europe and the Americas, covering a range of defensive and recession-proof infrastructure investments, Bahrain Group said.
Commenting on the deal, Infracorp CEO Majed Al Khan said: “In line with our vision, we are delighted to announce this investment in Aurora, which provides a critical power distribution infrastructure for strategic blue-chip industrial customers committed to Finland’s energy transition facilities, including the two largest consumers of electricity in Northern Europe.”
“Aurora’s distribution network connects its customers’ sites to the mains grid, making it strategic for the European and global chemical and stainless steel industry value chains. Customers at these sites have no alternative distribution network, making this a A unique asset,” he added.
Awais Majeed, executive director of private equity at GFH, said: “In line with our strategy of investing in resilient, ESG-impacting industries, this transaction marks yet another investment in a proven resilient sector that we expect to remain Relatively immune to economic cycles.”
“Aurora operates in a stable, business-friendly environment where macroeconomic trends provide a favorable backdrop for infrastructure investment. Importantly, it also benefits from Finland’s mature energy system and enjoys a unique position in power distribution, with no volume risk and having a strong client base and large established counterparties backed by the Finnish government,” he added.
Hugh Crossley, CEO of Equitix, said it was a pleasure to work with GFH and Infracorp on this excellent investment in providing a critical electricity network for the Finnish economy.
“Investment opportunities in infrastructure remain broad, and Equitix is ​​uniquely structured to source and execute core infrastructure investments, manage them responsibly and deliver superior risk-weighted returns,” Crossley noted.
“We look forward to working further with GFH. Equitix values ​​this partnership and has ample opportunity to jointly explore a range of attractive opportunities in the UK, Europe and the Americas,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service
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