EQT Infrastructure’s EQT Infrastructure III fund has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Holding d’Infrastructures des Métiers de l’Environnement (HIME), the holding company of SAUR Group from its current shareholders including BNP Paribas and Groupe BPCE. BNP Paribas will invest as minority shareholder alongside EQT Infrastructure in SAUR.
SAUR is a firm in the outsourced French water supply and treatment market. The Group serves approximately 7,000 French local authorities under long-term contracts with focus on small and mid-sized municipalities. SAUR also has an international footprint with a presence in Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, and Poland, among others.
As a shareholder with a long-term, industrial and responsible ownership approach, EQT Infrastructure intends to bring SAUR opportunities to develop further and return to sustained growth across its geographical markets.
“The investment will also be an important next step for EQT’s overall expansion into France, following a number of high-profile real estate acquisitions,” said Lennart Blecher, deputy managing partner at EQT and head of EQT Real Assets.
The transaction, which will be EQT Infrastructure’s first investment in France, will be contingent upon the standard regulatory approvals and is subject to the required Works Councils consultations. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details related to the transaction. The transaction could be finalized by the end of 2018.
