Brookfield Infrastructure is selling 100 per cent of Enwave, its North American district energy enterprise that includes the deep lake water cooling network in Toronto. The CAD $5.24 billion (USD $4.1 billion) divestiture consists of two separate transactions: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Australia-based IFM Investors will jointly acquire Enwave’s Canadian operations for CAD $2.8 billion (USD $2.18 billion); QIC and Ullico will acquire Enwave holdings in the United States.
“The sale of Enwave caps off a hugely successful investment for Brookfield Infrastructure, one in which we grew the business significantly through organic growth initiatives and follow-on acquisitions,” says Sam Pollock, chief executive officer of Brookfield Infrastructure.
Along with the Toronto-based piece, which Brookfield acquired in 2012, Enwave district energy facilities serve more than 800 customers with long-term contracts in 13 major cities — delivering nearly 3.8 million pounds per hour of heating and 327,000 tons (296,649 tonnes) of contracted cooling. That includes more than 300 Canadian customers in Toronto, London, Windsor and Charlottetown. Both the Canadian and U.S. assets will retain the name Enwave.
“Enwave is a prime example of an investment that we believe can be both commercially attractive and contribute to broader sustainability efforts,” maintains Dale Burgess, senior managing director, infrastructure and natural resources, with Ontario Teachers’. “It provides district energy solutions to a high-quality portfolio of clients in Canada, helping them reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.”
This is the second infrastructure investment Ontario Teachers’ has undertaken with IFM Investors, representing a group of Australia pension funds with more than USD $106 billion in assets under management. The partners co-own Global Container Terminals, operating out of the Ports of Vancouver and New York and New Jersey, and will each hold a 50 per cent stake in Enwave.
“We are looking forward to working with Ontario Teachers’ and continuing to grow Enwave’s footprint of sustainable district energy solutions throughout North America.” says Kyle Mangini, global head of infrastructure at IFM Investors.
