Spark Infra says Canadian pension fund to join buyout consortium

(Reuters) - Spark Infrastructure Group said on Tuesday it had agreed to let Canadian pension fund Public Sector Pension Investment Board to join a consortium that was looking to buy the Australian electricity infrastructure investor.

The consortium, which includes private equity giant KKR & Co Inc and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (OTPP), had last month offered to buy the Australian electricity infrastructure investor for A$5.13 billion ($3.76 billion).

Spark said it had allowed the revised consortium, that includes the Canadian fund, to continue conducting due diligence activities announced last month.

The new members of the consortium are expected to provide one-third of the total funding required for the acquisition.

However, in case the Public Sector Pension Board does not receive approvals to join the consortium, KKR and OTTP said they had sufficient funds to complete the acquisition.

Key terms and conditions for the buyout remain the same as those announced last month, Spark added. Public Sector Pension did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Rashmi Aich)