General – acquisition
3i Infrastructure announces that it has agreed to acquire the stake in Esvagt owned by its co-investor AMP Capital.
This will result in 3i Infrastructure holding 100% of the equity in Esvagt. This further investment is expected to be £268 million. Completion is subject to certain third party consents and is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2022.
In its half year results announcement, 3i Infrastructure said that a strategic review of its holding in Esvagt was in progress and that as part of that review, offers had been invited. However, the Company retained the options of continuing to hold its 50% stake, to sell, or to offer to buy the AMP Capital stake. Binding offers for 100% of the equity were received but not at a compelling price for 3i Infrastructure, and so the Company elected to offer to buy the AMP Capital stake.
Since acquiring Esvagt in 2015, 3i Infrastructure and AMP have supported management in driving the company’s shift in strategic focus towards SOVs and becoming a key enabler of offshore wind operations in Europe. SOVs represented less than 10% of earnings at acquisition, but have grown to provide the majority of Esvagt’s contracted earnings today.
During this period, Esvagt has delivered six new SOVs, and has entered into a joint venture with Crowley in the USA to support the emerging offshore wind energy market there.
