BlackRock’s real assets division has made a long-term debt financing investment in Swedish electricity distribution system operator Ellevio in a move the US investment manager says will give its infrastructure clients stable cash flows over the long term.

Jonathan Stevens, head of European infrastructure debt at BlackRock, said the debt financing is attractive to its clients and provides Ellevio with further diversification of its funding base, “enabling investment in a sustainable electricity network for its customers”.

The investment deal would benefit clients because of the resulting stable, long-term cash flows, and the fact that these were underpinned by an investment-grade rated issuer that had the advantage of fully-regulated electricity distribution operations in Sweden, BlackRock said.

The deal also capitalised on BlackRock’s clients’ ability to provide “natural, long-term Swedish krona funding,” the manager said.

Stevens said BlackRock’s global infrastructure debt platform now had more than $5bn (€4.7bn) in total assets under management.

BlackRock did not immediately disclose the size of the investment.