Global real asset investment management firm CBRE Investment Management has acquired a 80% shareholding in Geonova, a provider of geothermal and heat pump solutions, from Finnish renewable energy providers Helen and LämpöYkkönen.
LämpöYkkönen will retain a 20% stake in Geonova.
CBRE IM has also made a further capital commitment to fund the future expansion of the business.
The investment will form a core part of the strategy of CBRE IM’s private infrastructure division to invest in infrastructure assets and technologies that support the decarbonisation of the built environment.
Andreas Köttering, head of private infrastructure Europe at CBRE IM said: 'Investing in businesses like Geonova demonstrates our strategy of decarbonising the built environment. We can support that strategy by bringing to bear the capabilities of our entire CBRE platform.'
CBRE IM has also appointed Vesa Tempakka as a board director and chair of Geonova. Tempakka's experience in the Finnish energy sector includes a recent spell as CEO of Neova (formerly Vapo), a Finnish company focused on renewable energy solutions and other businesses.
'Geonova has already established itself as a leading player in the GSHP sector in Finland,' commented Kerron Lezama, senior director, infrastructure investments of CBRE IM. 'We are excited to be able to work with Geonova’s excellent management team and Vesa to support its future growth as low carbon heating systems play a greater role in making buildings more energy efficient.'
Helen, which sold a 58% stake in the business, said the transaction was part of its updated strategy to focus on district heating and cooling services across the company’s heating and cooling business.
Timo Aaltonen, SVP, heating and cooling at Helen said: 'In 2023, we updated our strategy to support the company’s long-term competitive strength and the green transition. The implementation of the strategy will focus on flexibility and profitability.
'One of our strategic decisions was to have our heating and cooling business focus on achieving the carbon neutrality targets for district heating and, in the long term, phasing out combustion.'
Helen's goal is to achieve carbon-neutral energy production by 2030 and to phase out combustion-based energy production by 2040.
