Patrizia to buy infrastructure investment manager Whitehelm

Patrizia is expanding its infrastructure business with the acquisition of Whitehelm Capital.

The real assets manager is paying an initial €67m to buy Whitehelm, in a deal which triples Patrizia’s infrastructure assets under management to €5bn. In total, Patrizia expects to pay “a low three-digit” amount once Whitehelm achieves certain mid-term targets.

The acquisition strengthens Patrizia’s footprint in the Asia Pacific region, and in North America where a Whitehelm fund backed by Dutch pension fund APG is working with SiFi Networks to roll out fibre networks in US cities. 

Patrizia said the acquisition also accelerates the execution of its sustainability strategy of achieving net-zero carbon emissions in respect of more than 70% of assets under management by 2040.

Whitehelm manages €3.2bn assets under management with €1.6bn additional commitments and has over €22bn funds under advice for institutional, government, and private clients in Australia.

Patrizia, which started as a German residential specialist, has in the last few years expanded from a diversified, pan-European institutional investment manager to become a €48bn global real assets manager.

Patrizia said it aims to grow its infrastructure business in the mid-term to €15 to 20bn.

Wolfgang Egger, CEO and founder of Patrizia, said: “The combination of our strengths, expertise and global footprint is highly complementary and will enable us to create significantly more investment choices for our clients.

This acquisition represents a key milestone to strengthen Patrizia’s offering as a partner for global real assets, Egger said.

Thomas Wels, co-CEO of Patrizia, said: “Whitehelm is a perfect strategic match for Patrizia. With this transformational acquisition that significantly expands our infrastructure expertise, we ascend to the next level as a global partner for real assets.

“And we strengthen our footprint in APAC to support our growth opportunities in the region.”

Graham Matthews, CEO and founding shareholder of Whitehelm Capital, said: “Patrizia will enable us to expand our client reach in Europe and offer attractive infrastructure investment opportunities to Patrizia’s large international institutional and private investor base.

“The combination of our expertise, portfolio offering, and global footprint will bring many attractive long-term investment opportunities to all our stakeholders.”

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