UK fund SDCL buys Sweden’s Värtan Gas for £100m

Stockholm

UK-listed SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc (SEEIT) said it agreed to acquire Värtan Gas Stockholm AB (VGSAB) in a deal that involves an equity investment of £100 million. 

The VGSAB group owns and operates Stockholm’s regulated gas grid, the majority of which is sourced from locally produced biogas.

The group supplies and distributes to over 58,000 residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and real estate customers in Stockholm.

“The acquisition will be funded from existing cash reserves and debt facilities, which include the capital raised in the recent equity fundraising and a £30 million short term acquisition facility that has been added to SEEIT’s current £40 million revolving credit facility,” said SEEIT.

“VGSAB’s existing project debt finance facilities, which are equivalent to c.£26 million, will remain in place.”

SEEIT’s investment manager is Sustainable Development Capital LLP.

Jonathan Maxwell, CEO and founder of Sustainable Development Capital LLP, said:  “SEEIT is making an investment in an important infrastructure asset for the City of Stockholm.

“It provides an attractive opportunity for SEEIT to invest in an established energy network that helps with greenhouse gas emission reductions and for SEEIT to help make it greener.

“The operational investment offers the opportunity for an attractive level of income and for significant growth over the medium to long term.

“We are pleased to agree this investment immediately following our successful fund-raising.”