The European Commission approved a joint acquisition by ATP, APG Asset Management and 3i Group of five infrastructure investments from EISER Infrastructure Partners.
The investments, which were part of the EISER Global Infrastructure Fund, are Belfast City Airport; ESP Utilities Group in the U.K.; Italian waste treatment facilities company Herambiente; Spanish bus terminals operator Concesiones de Intercambiadores de Transporte; and toll-road concessions operator Autovias de Peaje en Sombra, also based in Spain.
The EC concluded that the acquisition would not raise competition concerns given the transaction's limited impact on the structure of the market, it said in a news release.
A £700 million ($878 million) investment vehicle was set up by ATP, the 759 billion kroner (109 billion) Hilleroed, Denmark-based pension fund, and the money managers to finance the acquisition and invest in the portfolio of companies following the deal, APG's spokesman said Thursday in a telephone interview.
“The deal is an example of the Dutch pension fund manager's recently adopted strategy to acquire and restructure infrastructure funds that have reached the end of the term,” he said.
The spokesman could not specify the breakdown of APG and ATP's commitments by press time but said it totaled £664 million.
The €443 billion ($472 billion) manager runs the assets of the €402 billion Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands.
3i said in a news release in December, when the sale was announced, that it would invest £36 million in the deal alongside APG and ATP.
ATP and 3i spokesmen were not available to comment by press time.
