Investment manager Industry Funds Management's (IFM) part-owned Polish district heating business, Dalkia Polska, has acquired an 85 per cent slice of SPEC SA, the largest district heating network in the European Union.
The stake was purchased from the City of Warsaw government, and has received final approval by the city's council and anti-trust regulator the European Commission.
Dalkia Polska is a leading district heating provider in Poland. It is 40 per cent owned by IFM, and the rest belongs to Dalkia, which is co-owned by Electricité de France and Veolia.
District heating businesses provide heating to households from a central location using water or steam.
"This investment complements our existing portfolio and strategy of responsibly acquiring core, operating infrastructure investments for the long term across Europe and North America," IFM head of infrastructure for Europe Christian Seymour said.
IFM executive director Frederic Michel-Verdier said given forecasts for increasing demand for district heating in Poland, the investment presented significant upside potential for investors.
"The heating network in Warsaw is the largest in the European Union with more than 1700 kilometres of pipelines. It supplies 80 per cent of buildings in the city and has been developed dynamically over the last 20 years," Michel-Verdier said.
