The state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) has been awarded the bid contract to buy out Pacific Energy, a remote power station operator in Perth, Australia, for a A$422 million ($321 million) price tag.
QIC, one of the largest institutional investment managers in Australia, will reportedly acquire Pacific Energy on behalf of its global infrastructure fund, which utilizes an active-core strategy to acquire infrastructure businesses, not assets.
QIC and OPTrust, a Canadian pension fund investor, both submitted takeover bids for the acquisition, according to various news sources.
Pacific owns and operates 40 power stations that provide "off-grid" power to the Australian resource sector, along with renewable hydro and gas power, according to the company’s website. Together, the power stations have a generation capacity of 400 megawatts.
QIC believes ESG factors will have an increasingly material impact on the long-term returns of investment portfolios, according to its website. The company said it is committed to delivering strong, long-term investment performance to its clients and considering ESG factors is part of their investment decision-making process.
In 2017 and 2018, it achieved an A+ rating from the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).
QIC has A$84 billion ($60 billion) in funds under management, with A$11 billion ($7.8 billion) dedicated to 13 infrastructure assets globally.
