News.

London, 13 February 2025 – Arcus Infrastructure Partners (“Arcus”) is delighted to announce the completion of the sale of its smart metering businesses, Horizon Energy Infrastructure (“Horizon”) and Smart Meter Assets (“SMA”) to global investment firm KKR.

Since acquisition, Arcus has worked closely with the respective management teams to transform Horizon and SMA, significantly improving the scale and quality of both businesses through the implementation of a wide range of value creation initiatives, including winning new contracts with UK energy suppliers, raising debt financing, M&A, funding UK water meters and German smart meters and expanding into adjacent green infrastructure, such as heat pumps, EV chargers and solar PV systems. Under AEIF2’s ownership, Horizon and SMA won c. 3m new contracted meters with Octopus, OVO, Utilita, SO Energy and EDF, raised £940m of debt financing under an innovative structure, put in place long-term interest rate hedges, increased contract coverage of the meter base to 95% and significantly improved the ESG credentials of both businesses. At exit, the combined portfolio stands at c. 3.5m installed energy meters, with a c. 1.9m contracted pipeline of energy meters.

Stefano Brugnolo, Partner and Head of Energy at Arcus, commented: “We’d like to extend our sincere gratitude to Tom Thorp, Jeff Studholme, Richard Rose, and the entire Horizon and SMA teams for their partnership and commitment over this journey. Together, we have significantly grown the meter asset base and contracted meter pipelines for Horizon and SMA, expanded into new business areas and established a highly efficient funding platform for green, distributed energy infrastructure. The combined business is now well positioned to deliver its next phase of growth and development.”

About Arcus
Arcus Infrastructure Partners is an independent fund manager focused solely on long-term investments in European infrastructure. Arcus invests on behalf of institutional investors through discretionary funds and specialist co-investment vehicles and, through its subsidiaries, currently manages investments with an aggregate enterprise value of c. €24bn (as at 30 September 2024). Arcus targets mid-market, value-add infrastructure investments, with a particular focus on businesses in the digital, transport, logistics & industrials, and energy sectors. Further information on Arcus Infrastructure Partners can be found on www.arcusip.com.

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London, 4 February 2025 – Arcus Infrastructure Partners (“Arcus”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in Powering S.r.l (“Powering” or the “Company”), a leading power leasing business in Italy. The acquisition of Powering represents the seventh investment by Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 3 SCSp (“AEIF3”)

Established in 2011, Powering provides power solutions to critical grid and industrial operations and owns an extensive fleet of c.1,500 generators, operating through a network of over 55 depots across Italy. The Company uses a fully integrated business model which includes outright ownership of its generators, specialist in-house dispatch and refuelling capabilities, and proprietary IT systems. Powering’s network across Italy, and its fully integrated model, mean the Company is the only business in this sector in Italy capable of contractually committing to a two-hour call-out time. This has allowed Powering to secure 90% of its revenues under multi-year framework agreements with blue-chip Italian utilities and network maintenance operators, for whom the Company provides power during emergencies and regular grid maintenance works.

The Company provides an essential service and significant societal benefit to communities and industry in Italy. As a result of the rapid deployment times of generators such as those offered by Powering, the average duration of long unplanned grid interruptions has been reduced from 110 minutes in 2015 to 65 minutes in 2022.

Powering also plays a vital role in Italy’s energy transition, specifically with the trend towards greater electrification. The availability of a substantial and wide-ranging generator fleet, such as Powering’s, enables network operators to reinforce and upgrade grid infrastructure to support electrification as well as accommodating more decentralised renewable energy generation on the grid. Generator leasing also enables industry to drive the electrification of industrial processes as backup and emergency solutions are available to reduce production downtime risk.

Under the ownership of AEIF3, there is a significant opportunity for Arcus to help improve the carbon emissions footprint of the Company. This includes the upgrade to more efficient generators, the offering of HVO fuel to customers, and the piloting of hybrid and hydrogen generators.

Stefano Brugnolo, Partner and Head of Energy at Arcus, commented: “After several years of researching the European energy leasing market, Powering stood out as a strong fit for AEIF3’s investment strategy thanks to its fully integrated business model and robust infrastructure characteristics.

The company’s role in delivering critical energy solutions to communities and industries resonates deeply with our commitment to investments that drive both economic growth and positive societal impact. We see clear opportunities to further enhance Powering’s business potential and sustainability credentials through targeted asset management initiatives, a core pillar of our investment strategy.

We look forward to partnering with the Giancano family and Powering’s management team as we work together to unlock the next phase of growth for this dynamic business.”

Piero Giancano, Founder and CEO of Powering, added: “Partnering with Arcus marks a key milestone in Powering’s journey. Building this business from the ground up has been an incredible experience, and I am excited to work alongside an experienced institutional partner who shares our vision for growth and has the infrastructure expertise to help us take the company to the next level.”

Arcus was advised by Gianni & Origoni (Legal), Bain (Commercial), Houlihan Lokey (Debt Advisory) PwC (Financial, Tax & Structuring), Afry (Technical), and Aon (Insurance).

About Arcus
Arcus Infrastructure Partners is an independent fund manager focused solely on long-term investments in European infrastructure. Arcus invests on behalf of institutional investors through discretionary funds and specialist co-investment vehicles and, through its subsidiaries, currently manages investments with an aggregate enterprise value of c. €24bn (as at 30 September 2024). Arcus targets mid-market, value-add infrastructure investments, with a particular focus on businesses in the digital, transport, logistics & industrials, and energy sectors. Further information on Arcus Infrastructure Partners can be found on www.arcusip.com.

About Powering
Powering S.r.l. was established in 2011 and is the number one power leasing business in Italy providing power solutions primarily in the form of grid support to utilities (which include DSOs and grid maintenance companies), as well as, to a lesser degree, commercial and industrial clients (“C&I”). Powering has experienced consistent strong growth since its inception in 2011, becoming the market leader in its core end-market. Further information on Powering can be found on https://www.poweringsrl.it/

London, 28 November – Horizon Energy Infrastructure (“HEI”) and Smart Meter Assets (“SMA”), a leading energy infrastructure company, today announced that they will join forces with SMS to create one of the leading providers of UK smart metering infrastructure (“the Group”). HEI and SMA’s portfolio represent a total of 3.5 million installed energy meters, and together the Group will manage over 6 million meters. HEI and SMA are currently owned by Arcus Infrastructure Partners, who will transfer ownership to KKR, who acquired SMS in April 2024.

Smart meters are a key enabler of the UK’s net zero 2050 ambitions, providing critical infrastructure to support the transition to a decarbonised and digitised energy system. The combination represents an important step in the Group’s growth, expanding the existing meter asset base and pipeline with complementary assets. Further, the combination supports the Group’s mission to create a more sustainable energy future by adding opportunities in adjacent markets such as solar, energy storage, heat pumps, and EV charging infrastructure. It also enables the Group to broaden its presence in the UK and expand its innovative solutions into new sectors, such as Germany and the UK water sector.

Tom Thorp, CEO of HEI/SMA, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with KKR and SMS as we progress at speed with our expansion within the UK from both an energy metering and adjacent solutions perspective while also targeting the exciting new areas of smart water metering and smart energy metering in Germany. The strength and breadth of knowledge and experience that we have across our teams will be invaluable in providing optimised solutions for all our customers, both now and into the future.”

“The combination represents a meaningful step forward for SMS,” said Tim Mortlock, CEO of SMS. “It significantly expands our business and enhances our ability to deliver cutting-edge energy solutions to our customers. We are excited to welcome the teams from HEI and SMA, and look forward to working together to deliver on our shared pipeline and growth ambitions.”

Stefano Brugnolo, Partner and Head of Energy at Arcus, commented: “When we began investigating the smart metering market in 2016, we saw significant opportunity, driven by its vital role in the energy transition and strong market fundamentals. The HEI and SMA businesses stood out within this market, and we are incredibly proud of what’s been achieved alongside management during Arcus’ ownership. We are deeply grateful to Tom, Jeff and the rest of the HEI and SMA teams and are confident that alongside SMS and under the ownership of KKR, they will continue on their exceptional growth trajectories.”

Andrew Furze, Managing Director at KKR, said: “This integration highlights the long-term perspective offered by private capital, enabling the Group to build on its core strengths in smart metering and explore opportunities in adjacent markets. We are excited to support SMS, HEI and SMA in their mission to address the growing need for decarbonization and digitization of the energy system in the UK and Europe.”

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in early 2025.

About Arcus Infrastructure Partners

Arcus Infrastructure Partners is an independent fund manager focused solely on long-term investments in European infrastructure. Arcus invests on behalf of institutional investors through discretionary funds and specialist co-investment vehicles and, through its subsidiaries, currently manages investments with an aggregate c. €24bn (as of 30 June 2024). Arcus targets mid-market, value-add infrastructure investments, with a particular focus on businesses in the digital, transport, logistics & industrials, and energy sectors.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.