Industry Funds Management (IFM) affiliate Dalkia Polska, a Polish district heating business, has acquired an 85 per cent stake from the City of Warsaw in Przedsiebiorstwo Stoleczne Energetyki Cieplnej (SPEC).

SPEC is the largest district heating network in the European Union.

According to Bloomberg, the City of Warsaw valued the company in its 2011 budget at 750 million zloty. This would put a price of about $210 million on the 85 per cent stake.

The transaction is subject to final approval by the City Council of the City of Warsaw and the European Commission and is expected to close in the last quarter of 2011.

The acquisition will see Dalkia Polska's market share in the Polish district heating sector increase from 11 per cent to 25 per cent.

IFM was attracted to the project because of Poland's strong economic fundamentals and the fact it provided institutional investors with the potential for greater exposure to a regulated and growing energy sector, IFM head of infrastructure for Europe Christian Seymour said.
 
"The investment in the district heating network of Warsaw will provide investors in our global infrastructure fund access to a leading energy asset in a stable and growing economy," Seymour said. 

"This investment complements our existing portfolio and strategy of responsibly acquiring core, operating infrastructure investments for the long term across Europe and North America.

"Poland has shown resilience during the economic downturn by continuing its positive GDP (gross domestic product) growth. Based on our analysis, we expect the country to outperform its peers in central and eastern Europe with a forecast GDP growth of 4 per cent in the coming years.

"This trend provides greater certainty to our investors in our long-term commitment to core infrastructure in this region and more importantly addresses local infrastructure needs while supporting economic development in Poland."

IFM bought a 34 per cent stake in Dalkia Polska in 2006 and increased its interest to 40 per cent in July last year.

Dalkia Polska holds a portfolio of regulated district heating networks and co-generation plants with regulated heat tariffs in the cities of Lodz and Poznan.