EQT announced it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Ocea from ICG Infrastructure Equity.
Ocea aims to play a key role in the rollout of smart water and heat submetering devices leading to tangible savings for customers and positive impact for the environment. It operates more than four million heat and water submeters. Through long-term, 10+ year inflation-linked contracts, the company provides a comprehensive range of submetering services to over 7,000 public and private customers, including installation and rental, reading and data collection, and maintenance and replacement.
The Company is expected to benefit from favorable growth trends in the French submetering market owing to regulation and strong consumer demand to allocate and reduce consumption. Penetration rates are expected to improve both across the water and heat segment, while creating significant adjacent business opportunities.
Since acquiring a majority stake in Ocea in 2019, ICG Infra undertook a series of initiatives to support its growth in the energy transition, driven by a management team of seasoned executives led by CEO Emmanuel Croc.
EQT plans to support Ocea's growth in its core submetering business and across other adjacent solutions in the environmental, data management and smart housing segments. EQT would help Ocea to continue the expansion of its asset and client base, drive growth through capex-enabled sustainable energy solutions and make significant investments in digital customer services.
EQT plans to support Ocea's growth in its core submetering business and across other adjacent solutions in the environmental, data management and smart housing segments
Fabian Gröne, Partner in the EQT Active Core Infrastructure Advisory Team, said: "This potential investment aligns with EQT's approach of investing in essential services that have a positive impact on society, and builds on our track record in the circularity and resource efficiency themes. Ocea would mark EQT Active Core Infrastructure's third investment, which is focused on acquiring core businesses with strong downside protection and inflation-linked contracts backed by thematic market growth - while still providing significant value creation opportunities from EQT's active ownership approach."
Thomas Rajzbaum, Partner and Head of EQT's French Infrastructure Advisory Team, added: "We have followed Ocea for a long time and have been deeply impressed by its growth track record. We are thrilled by the prospect of partnering with the management team to further strengthen the Company's positioning in France and abroad through continued growth in its asset base and investments in digitalisation and sustainable customer solutions."
Emmanuel Croc, Chief Executive Officer of Ocea, said: "I would like to thank ICG for their strong contribution and expertise over the last four years, and we would be delighted to welcome EQT as a new long-term partner. We see the demand for submetering solutions steadily increasing amidst continued volatility in energy costs, increased customer awareness and desire to save coupled with a favorable regulatory landscape. By combining Ocea's footprint and customer relationships with EQT's experience in the energy sector, we plan to scale the platform further and grow in attractive adjacencies such as geothermal."
Guillaume d'Engremont, Head of Infrastructure at ICG, commented: "Since we first invested in Ocea, our support has allowed the Company to continuously strengthen its position as a leading energy efficiency player by growing its installed base of sub-meters whilst also expanding into additional business lines synergetic with its core business. We are proud to have accelerated this critical mission over the past four years. It has been a pleasure to partner with Emmanuel Croc and the management team, who are doing a fantastic job further growing Ocea in the French market with an industry-leading efficiency and sustainability focus."
