Mirova Core Infrastructure Fund buys majority stake in district heating networks in Italy

Mirova, the Natixis Asset Management’s subsidiary, has announced that Mirova Core Infrastructure Fund (MCIF) has completed the acquisition of a majority stake (85%) in the Italian concession company Aton per il Progetto S.r.l. (Aton).

Aton is in charge of the construction and operation of a cogeneration plant station as well as a district heating network serving the Udine Hospital and north-west province of Udine (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy).

The purchase agreement was concluded with Siram S.p.a, a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Environment in Italy, which also serves as operator for this project and will hold the remaining 15% shareholding. Signed in June 2016, the transaction has satisfied all customary closing conditions since then.

In operation since September 2015, Aton’s revenues mainly come from the provision of heating and cooling services to the final beneficiaries of the concession contract: the Hospital Santa Maria della Misericordia, the University of Udine and the swimming pool of Palamostre. Besides, the company serves third-party users, mostly households, with solutions to get connected to the heating distribution system.

MCIF is Mirova’s first brownfield PPP focused fund investing in Continental Europe. To date, the fund has already committed and invested in 18 assets for a total amount of €425 million (US$451 million), predominantly in European PPP and infrastructure concessions, spanning from transportation, to broadband networks, and a wide range of social infrastructure projects.

Mirova was advised by Dentons (France and Italy), Arup and KPMG on this transaction.

Gwenola Chambon, Mirova’s Head of Infrastructure and Fund Principal, reacted to the news:

“This transaction demonstrates Mirova’s ability and willingness to deploy capital across all Continental Europe on behalf of our investors; it is the second transaction realized by Mirova outside of France over the course of the year, after the acquisition of a 24.7% equity interest in the Metro de Malaga project back in June 2016.”

Mirova’s Deputy Head of Infrastructure funds and Fund Principal, Mounir Corm, also commented:

“It was a great pleasure to work with Siram and Veolia on this transaction and we are delighted to have Siram as our equity and operating partner. This new investment is MCIF‘s first transaction in heating networks and in Italy, it fits perfectly with MCIF diversification strategy across sectors and European countries.”