Australian pension fund Prime Super has bought the Macquarie-backed proptech company, Active Utilities, for between A$100m and A$120m (€60-€72m).
Active Utilities provides Melbourne-based Prime Super with a significant market share across five states in Australia as a provider of utility services offering electricity, gas and water.
The acquisition by Prime Super positions the multi-industry fund as the largest independent provider of local energy network solutions in Australia.
Prime Super acquired South Australian renewable energy company Savant Energy in a joint investment with Yes Group a year ago.
The two acquisitions paved the way for greater synergies between these businesses, creating strategic opportunities for Prime Super to leverage and extend environmental benefits already provided by its existing clean energy businesses, Savant Energy, and the fund’s wind energy platform.
Lachlan Baird, chief executive officer of Prime Super, said: “Prime Super is now a significant presence in this sector, and by leveraging the benefits of our existing businesses – Savant Energy and our wind energy assets – we’ll be able, by 2025, to transmit green energy throughout the country, creating many new jobs.”
Baird said the acquisition would help the fund continue to deliver strong returns for members while helping the economy transition to greener energy solutions.
Patrizia Infrastructure, which is Prime Super’s investment manager, assisted in the acquisition.
In 2019, Macquarie became a major shareholder of Active Utilities.
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