Real assets fund manager Patrizia is acquiring an 85% stake in Italian smart streetlighting operator Atlantico for its Smart City Infrastructure Fund for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction completes the APG-backed fund’s €750m investment programme in the US and Europe.

It is the third Italian smart streetlighting acquisition on behalf of the fund, which has Dutch pension group APG as its sole investor. Its investment in Italian smart streelighting now totals €260m following the Ottima and Selettra transactions in 2022.

Established in 2012, Atlantico is Italy’s third-largest independent smart streetlighting operator by number of light points managed.

Matteo Andreoletti, head of infrastructure equity for Europe and North America at Patrizia, said: “Our acquisition of Atlantico is highly complementary to our smart cities portfolio and is a strategic investment for accelerating the growth of our streetlighting platform.

“With much greater scale and market share, we can leverage our access to debt and innovative smart city solutions to really drive the future value and investment opportunities within the platform.”

Graham Matthews, CEO of Patrizia Infrastructure and chair of Smart Citiy Infrastructure Fund, said: “We are living in a world in transition where digital infrastructure and new technologies are disrupting the way we live, work and do business across the globe. This digitalisation megatrend continues to create highly attractive opportunities for investors looking to capitalise on infrastructure assets delivering long-term resilient income alongside positive social impact within communities.

“The success of our €750m smart cities investment programme underlines our commitment to driving the digitalisation of our economies and unlocking value for our investors through innovative smart city solutions.”

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