Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have invested roughly $600 million apiece to acquire stakes of just under 50% each in Singapore-based infrastructure firm Equis Development.
A joint news release Thursday said Ontario Teachers', a Toronto-based pension fund with C$204.7 billion ($153.6 billion) in assets, and a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA, a sovereign wealth fund with an estimated $579 billion in assets, signed binding agreements with Equis' management team. Under the deal, Equis' management will top up the two stakeholders' investments to bring Equis' total capital to $1.25 billion.
Equis is focused on "developing, constructing and operating primary and hybrid renewable energy and biomass generation, power grid distribution and transmission and waste infrastructure assets in Australia, Japan and South Korea," according to the release.
The firm was formed in 2019 by veterans of Macquarie Group, who restructured their business model "from a funds management business to an infrastructure asset development company," according to Equis' website.
Equis plans to commit more than $2 billion into renewable energy and waste infrastructure assets across Australia, Japan and South Korea over the next two years, Lance Comes, Equis' managing director, said in the news release. Mr. Comes added that the firm "is rapidly expanding its management team of over 60 engineering, investment and development professionals."
Khadem AlRemeithi, executive director of the real estate and infrastructure department at ADIA, in the news release called the venture with Equis a "significant opportunity to support the growth of renewable energy infrastructure" in the Asia-Pacific region.
Ben Chan, Hong Kong-based regional managing director, Asia-Pacific, with Ontario Teachers' said tying up with Equis' "world-class team … fits with our greenfield and renewables strategy to focus on development stage opportunities through high-quality platforms."
