OMERS, APG to buy Dutch meters business Kenter in $764 million deal

By Andres Gonzalez

LONDON (Reuters) -Canada's OMERS and Dutch pension investor APG have agreed to buy Netherlands-based energy infrastructure solutions firm Kenter, according to a draft announcement of the deal seen by Reuters and confirmed by the purchasers.

The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, values Kenter at close to 700 million euros ($764 million) including debt, a source with knowledge of the transaction said.

Kenter, which is currently owned by Alliander Corporate Ventures and specialises in energy transition, sells products such as transformers, switchgear, and meters in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Alliander confirmed plans to sell Kenter but said the 700 million euro deal size estimate was not accurate. A spokesperson declined to disclose an alternative figure.

A second source familiar with the transaction said Kenter had annual sales of around 100 million euros and APG was investing "several hundred million euros" for its share, but could not confirm the deal size.

APG, which conducts investments on behalf of Dutch pension fund giant ABP, confirmed the acquisition in a joint press statement with OMERS but did not disclose financial terms.

OMERS, which has C$124.2 billion ($93.67 billion) in assets under management according to its website, has been active in investing in energy transition assets in the last few years.

It has bought into electric grids such as Ellevio in Sweden and Transgrid in Australia and renewable generation investments, such as FRV in Australia or Leeward Renewable Energy in the U.S.

Following the acquisition, APG and Omers plan a partnership between Kenter and another company in their portfolio, Groendus which builds and operates rooftop solar and storage products, meters and electric vehicle chargers for industrial businesses.

"We look forward to growing a B2B energy solutions platform in the region, delivering energy infrastructure for businesses looking to meet their sustainability goals," said Alastair Hall, Senior Managing Director and Head of Europe at OMERS Infrastructure.

The investment has been made by APG Asset Management on behalf of ABP, while OMERS Infrastructure is investing on behalf of OMERS. APG and OMERS Infrastructure were advised by DC Advisory, Emendo Capital and Allen & Overy.

($1 = 1.3236 Canadian dollars)

($1 = 0.9163 euros)

(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez. Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam. Editing by Alexander Smith and Mark Potter)