Schiphol Archives - DIF Capital Partners

28 March 2023 | Schiphol

Changes to DIF Capital Partners’ Executive Committee

The Supervisory Board of DIF Management B.V. is pleased to announce changes to the composition of its Executive Committee (ExCo) designed to create a more effective and focused governance body.

DIF’s ExCo is responsible for the daily operations of the firm and ultimately for the execution of the investment strategies of the funds. The ExCo leads the organisation, sets policies and oversees performance versus strategic objectives.

Given the growth of the firm over recent years, DIF has concluded that a more streamlined ExCo will optimize the efforts of DIF’s partners and ensure the ExCo’s continued effectiveness.

Therefore, as from 15 February 2023, the ExCo of DIF Capital Partners consists of five members:

Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Wim Blaasse
Deputy CEO: Gijs Voskuyl
Chief Investment Officer (CIO): Allard Ruijs
Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Zaina Ahmed-Karim
Chief Risk Officer (CRO): Anne Snel-Simmons

Wim Blaasse continues to act as DIF’s CEO (Managing Partner), the chairman of the ExCo and the chairman of all of DIF’s investment committees.

Gijs Voskuyl has been appointed DIF’s Deputy CEO, a new role in the ExCo, taking over a number of responsibilities from Wim with regards to managing the broader DIF organisation. Gijs joined DIF in 2008 and has played an instrumental role in a large number of transactions over the last 15 years. Gijs will continue his lead role managing the traditional DIF funds (including DIF Infrastructure VII).

Allard Ruijs has been appointed Chief Investment Officer (CIO). This is a new role within DIF and will involve overseeing the development of all of DIF’s investment strategies, which includes deal oversight from origination and execution, through to asset management and ultimately exit. Allard will continue to oversee DIF’s investor relation activities and will continue to act as vice-chairman of the investment committees of all DIF-managed funds. He joined DIF in 2007 in the investment team. From 2012 through 2022, Allard was Head of Investor Relations & Business Development.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as well as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) roles will remain unchanged and are filled respectively by Zaina Ahmed-Karim and Anne Snel-Simmons. Zaina and Anne joined DIF in 2022 and 2018, respectively.

The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets has approved the appointments and the Works Council has given its positive advice.

With the streamlining of the ExCo and the creation of the Deputy CEO and CIO roles, DIF believes it is well-positioned for the next chapter of its successful growth journey.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with more than EUR 15 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 210 professionals in 11 offices, DIF Capital Partners offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu.

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9 March 2023 | Schiphol

Meet our experts at the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit from 20-23 March

Eleven more days to go until the start of the annual Infrastructure Investor Global Summit in Berlin!

Meet our Investor Relations team and make sure not to miss out on what three of our thought leaders have to say in their respective panel sessions:

Our Head of Digital Infrastructure and Managing Director Kanan Joshi will speak on digital infrastructure;
Partner and Head of Instructure Gijs Voskuyl will be on a panel on the global infrastructure landscape;
Last but not least, partner and Head of CIF Willem Jansonius will talk about energy transition.

See you in Berlin from 20-23 March!

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19 December 2022 | Schiphol

Congratulations to our 36 employees that have been promoted this year!

People have always been DIF’s greatest asset and the work our employees do doesn’t go unrecognised.

Join us in wishing them every success in their new role. This is the full list of this year’s promotions per grade. Congratulations to all of you!

Rhea Castelino	CA	Origination	Associate
Claudia Harrington	GB	Asset Management	Associate
Alexander Mend	NL	IT	Associate
Foucault Monguillon	FR	Origination	Associate
Josh Simpson	CA	Asset Management	Associate
Samira Taarabti	LU	Finance	Associate
Serhat Torbali	LU	Legal & Regulatory	Associate
Jack Woodruff	AU	Asset Management	Associate
Thomas van Agtmaal	NL	Origination	Associate
Kees Arets	NL	Origination	Associate Director
Gurpreet Badwal	CA	Origination	Associate Director
Daniel Beri	US	Origination	Associate Director
Marlon Berkhoff	NL	Finance	Associate Director
Sybren Bruin	NL	Finance	Associate Director
Amit Joshi	GB	Asset Management	Associate Director
Stephanie Koning	NL	Finance	Associate Director
William Alink	NL	IR & BD	Director
George Craig	CA	Origination	Director
Jonas Freise	DE	Origination	Director
Annemiek Houben	NL	Legal & Regulatory	Director
Bastien Zehntner	FR	Origination	Director
Paul Adams	NL	IR & BD	Managing Director
Luis Hinojosa	CL	Origination	Managing Director
Mathieu Hévin	FR	Origination	Managing Director
Kanan Joshi	US	Origination	Managing Director
Aymeric Piquet-Gauthier	FR	Asset Management	Managing Director
Roger Roumen	NL	Finance	Managing Director
Thijs Verburg	NL	IR & BD	Managing Director
Marissa Dardi	GB	Asset Management	Senior Director
Karen Fluks	NL	Compliance	Senior Director
Joeri Heijnen	NL	Finance	Senior Director
Philip Newzella	DE	Asset Management	Senior Director
Charlie Websper	GB	Origination	Senior Director
María-José Crespo	ES	General	Senior Management Assistant
Andrea Mueller	DE	General	Senior Management Assistant
Sasha Roberts	GB	General	Senior Management Assistant

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13 December 2022 | Schiphol

Infrastructure investors must see the wood for the trees when it comes to ESG impact | blog

There is no doubt that the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts of infrastructure investments are of increasing interest to regulators, investors and civil society. That is good news, but it’s also important this impact is understood in a holistic way, telling the full story of the infrastructure project we fund.

Currently, much of the debate with LPs on ESG impact is focused on managing and minimising the adverse impacts that all infrastructure projects have. New rules such as the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations (SFDR), rightly, demand transparency and accountability in areas such as reducing emissions, improving health and safety or decreasing biodiversity loss.

That is much needed, but focusing on the minimisation of harm also risks failing to see the wood for the trees.

Intrinsic benefits

For those who work in our sector the connection between infrastructure investment, economic growth and societal benefits is very clear.

The hospital and school investments we make improve health and enrich education. Fiber networks get thousands online to close the digital divide. Clean energy assets are laying the foundations for the low-carbon economy and roadbuilding enables millions of drivers to travel more quickly, safely and efficiently.

Across the world, infrastructure is helping in achieve the challenges of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

So just as we should not solely use a traditional cost/benefit analysis to narrowly focus on just the financial viability of an asset; we should not use ESG analysis to solely focus on reducing harm. That risks overlooking the wider inherent benefits our sector creates.

Measuring positive outcomes

To address this challenge and showcase promising practices my firm, DIF Capital Partners, has worked with specialist sustainability consultants to develop an ‘Intrinsic Benefits Tool’.

The aim of the tool is to provide both a sector- and country-level analysis for each sector we invest in that identifies the intrinsic benefits an investment might provide.

It is based on impact metrics developed by UNEP-FI and its scores measure both positive and negative impacts that can be linked back to the SDGs. It also considers each country’s specific needs or issues. A school investment in a country lacking teaching capabilities, for instance, would score higher than a similar investment in a country with abundant education facilities.

For example, we used the tool when considering our investment in Airtower, a US wireless company providing the next generation wifi networks. It helped show how these networks enable first responders such as ambulance drivers to deal with emergencies, contributing to SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being), build smart, sustainable cities (SDG 11) and use cloud migration to reduce the need for emissions-intensive local servers (SDG 13).

It provided a similar role for our investment in Greener, a market leader in mobile battery solutions in the Netherlands, showing that Greener contributes positively to SDG 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 13 (Climate action) by supplying clean energy and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

The tool is part of a holistic attempt to understand ESG risks and opportunities in our investment process which also includes a screening mechanism during pre-investment, and active monitoring and management of an investee’s potential negative impacts throughout our ownership.

A brighter infrastructure investing picture

We live in a world where megatrends such as digitisation, energy transition, urbanisation and consumption continue to foster demand for infrastructure investing. But it is also a world where projects must continuously report on their environmental and social impacts, and show they align with public policy goals such as the SDGs.

As the sector beds in systems and standards to allow that to happen we must strike an appropriate balance between how we are generating and reporting financial returns, the action we are taking to minimize negative impacts, but also the wider long-term public benefits that are being delivered by our hospitals, schools, networks and other infrastructure too.

Frank Siblesz is Head of ESG at DIF Capital Partners

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24 November 2022 | Schiphol

Annual DIF ESG event: net zero and cyber security

“How Finland moves to sustainable heating” and “Why ransomware gangs gain access to your company on a Friday afternoon”.

These were just some of the fascinating topics discussed during our engaging and thought-provoking annual DIF ESG Event. It was held in hybrid format on 22^ndNovember 2022, with an audience of just under 200 people.

A well-diversified mix of management teams, investee companies and DIF employees joining either in-person or via livestream. The event covered two important ESG themes: net zero and cyber security.

A big thank you to our exceptional external speakers: Simon Mundy (FT Journalist and author of “The Race for Tomorrow”), Matti Tynjala (CEO, Loimua Oy), Erik Westhovens (Cyber Security Expert and author of “13.Ransomwared”) and to our own ESG Team: Angela Roshier, Frank Siblesz and Hanah Chang for putting together such an insightful event.

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10 November 2022 | Schiphol

COP27: our commitment to net zero

The world is gathering in Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27 to discuss climate change and it has probably never felt as urgent as it does now. At the same time, a lot has happened already and important steps are being taken.

DIF Capital Partners joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative in 2021 and we committed our firm to being a net zero investor by 2050 or sooner.

But, we wanted to stretch this ambition. So we’ve set an interim target of 70% of our AUM to be aligning with net zero by 2030. We have already started collecting our portfolio’s carbon footprint and are developing decarbonisation plans for individual investments.

The title of our recently published 2022 ESG-report is ‘Accelerating the transition’. That’s not just a title. It is what we truly stand for and what we’re putting a lot of effort in every day.

Download our ESG report here.

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1 November 2022 | Schiphol

DIF appoints three partners

DIF Capital Partners is pleased to announce the appointment of three partners, Zaina Ahmed-Karim, Tom Goossens and Vincent Liu.

The promotion of Tom and Vincent from managing director to partner is in response to their personal contributions to the strong development of the firm. Tom and Vincent, who joined DIF in 2014 and 2016 respectively, have been leading several landmark investments over the years and have played a key role in further building the presence of DIF in their respective markets. Tom has been covering the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, Vincent North America.

Zaina joined DIF on the 1^st of September to succeed Robert Doekes as CFO. She will be responsible for finance and investor reporting, as well as tax, treasury, IT and operations. Zaina was previously CFO of Dasym, an investment management boutique firm. Prior to that, she spent 25 years at EY, of which 13 years as senior audit partner in the Financial Services group. She is a qualified chartered accountant and holds a Master’s degree in both Business Economics and Accountancy from the VU Amsterdam University, the Netherlands.

Robert Doekes retired as a partner after 13 years in his role as CFO. DIF is pleased to be able to continue to benefit from his experience and knowledge, given that he will stay active for DIF in several projects and advisory roles.

Managing partner Wim Blaasse said, “”We are very pleased to welcome Zaina, Tom and Vincent as partners of DIF. Zaina has now officially taken over the role of Robert as CFO. I’m confident her longstanding background and experience will be of great added value to DIF. At the same time, her appointment will further increase the diversity of our senior leadership team. We would like to express deep gratitude to Robert for his commitment and contribution to building a strong investment platform over the last 13 years. Tom and Vincent have already contributed substantially to where we are today and I am confident they will continue to play a crucial role in achieving the future success of the company.”

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 14 billion in assets under management across eleven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VII is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 200 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact DIF: Diederik Heinink, d.heinink@dif.eu

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6 September 2022 | Schiphol

Willem Jansonius in Mid Market Roundtable | Infrastructure Investor September 2022

The magic of the mid-market.

In the 2022 edition of the Infrastructure Investor Mid Market Roundtable DIF’s Head of CIF Willem Jansonius explains why the mid market is such an interesting part of the infrastructure space, continuing to offer highly attractive investment opportunities for the DIF strategies.

To read the complete article, please open Willem Jansonius in Mid Market Roundtable (September 2022)

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14 July 2022 | Schiphol

Dutch Climate Action Fund aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the Netherlands

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”) and NN Group have launched the Dutch Climate Action Fund. NN Group is a cornerstone investor with an initial commitment of EUR 125 million, and DIF will manage the fund.

The Dutch Climate Action Fund will invest in projects and companies active in climate change solutions that envisage to support the Dutch energy transition. The fund is rising to this challenge by targeting investments that aim to support the reduction of carbon emissions in the Netherlands. These investments are targeted to be pioneers in their markets as well as investments in more traditional clean energy sectors. The fund may invest in energy efficiency, e-mobility, energy storage and hydrogen, as well as in renewable energy generation such as onshore wind and solar farms. Renewable energy generation is expected to be a catalyst for electrification of industries, buildings and transportation, driving a significant part of emission reduction and therefore investment needs. The Dutch Climate Action Fund focuses on equity investments of up to EUR 25 million per investment.

Specifically, the fund’s investments target to support and promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals number 7 (affordable and clean energy), number 11 (sustainable cities and communities) as well as number 13 (climate action). Actual contribution to these SDGs, as well as reporting against the progress of achieving selected KPIs in relation to these SDGs, are targeted to be assessed for each investment opportunity.

Allard Ruijs, Partner of DIF Capital Partners: ‘We are honored to partner with NN Group on this Dutch initiative to further drive the energy transition and the reduction of carbon emissions in our home market through a focused investment strategy and leveraging on DIF’s long standing track record in the global energy infrastructure markets.’

Jelle van der Giessen, Chief Investment Officer of NN Group: ‘Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of today; weather extremes due to climate change in the form of heat waves, drought and storms are only increasing. In addition to decarbonising our investment portfolio, NN Group has a clear commitment to double our investments in climate solutions by 2030. Companies and households may be able to reduce their carbon footprint, but still need energy. As long as this energy is derived from fossil fuels, we as a society will face difficulties achieving net-zero. Our investments in the Dutch Climate Action Fund will support and accelerate the Dutch energy transition, essential to ultimately reach net-zero.’

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 11 billion in assets under management across ten closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 190 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Thijs Verburg, t.verburg@dif.eu.

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12 July 2022 | Schiphol

DIF Capital Partners supports further growth of Greener, a leading Dutch mobile battery solution provider

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”) is pleased to announce that through DIF CIF III (the “Fund”) it has signed an agreement to partner with Greener Power Solutions B.V. (“Greener”), a leading mobile battery solution provider, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Fund will acquire a majority stake and provide capital that will enable Greener to rapidly grow its battery fleet in order to expand its service offering and achieve its ambitious growth plans in the Netherlands and abroad.

Greener is a market leader in mobile battery solutions in the Netherlands with a portfolio of 60 containerized mobile batteries. Through its mobile batteries the company provides contracted mobile green power solutions to customers who have insufficient or no grid connection capacity available. Greener supplies off- and on-grid power solutions to among others construction sites, customers awaiting grid upgrades, large scale events and temporary EV charging locations.

Demand for mobile battery solutions is growing rapidly due to tightening emission regulations, pushing construction companies to use more environmentally friendly power solutions, and growing grid constraints leading to an increased demand for temporary power. Greener is strongly positioned due to its sizeable fleet of high-quality mobile batteries, experience in installing and operating batteries and in-house developed software platform, which offers customers convenience and cost savings tailored to their specific applications.

Willem Jansonius, Partner and Head of Investments for the DIF CIF strategy, says: “DIF believes that the ongoing push to decarbonize the economy and reduce nitrogen emissions will continue to increase pressure on companies to utilize clean energy solutions, as evidenced by the ongoing nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands. Moreover, Greener is expected to benefit from the constraints to enlarge grid capacity in the Netherlands. Greener’s mobile power solutions offers a material reduction in emissions and thereby supports the energy transition. We are excited to on-board on this journey together with management to realize Greener’s ambitious growth and decarbonization plans”.

Dieter Castelein, CEO of Greener: “The investment of DIF Capital Partners enables us to achieve new goals and pursue great opportunities to further improve and expand our power solutions. We believe that temporary power supply will play a great role in the energy transition and we aim to make a significant contributions to the acceleration of this transition.”

Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in July 2022.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 11 billion in assets under management across ten closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 190 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Thijs Verburg, t.verburg@dif.eu.

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22 June 2022 | Schiphol

DIF Capital Partners joins forces with Virya Energy to acquire a strategic position in Dutch green hydrogen developer VoltH2

DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), through DIF Infrastructure VI, has acquired an interest in green hydrogen production facilities developer VoltH2 (the “Company”). DIF entered into a strategic partnership with Virya Energy, a leading Belgian renewable energy company, in acquiring a majority stake in the Company, with VoltH2’s founder André Jurres, retaining a meaningful share as well.

The Netherlands based VoltH2 holds permits and secured land plots for two production sites in Vlissingen and Terneuzen, with advanced planning underway for an additional site in Delfzijl as well as a number of early phase development positions. The three most advanced facilities have a capacity of initially 75 MW which can be scaled up to 250 MW. DIF’s and Virya’s involvement enables VoltH2 to realise its first green hydrogen production facilities in the near future and further expand the pipeline.

André Jurres, Managing Director of VoltH2: “This investment attests to the confidence in green hydrogen and in the growth of VoltH2. With the involvement of DIF Capital Partners and Virya Energy, we can anchor VoltH2 locally as well as internationally, achieve our ambitions and play a crucial role in the European energy market and energy transition.”

Gijs Voskuyl, Partner at DIF Capital Partners, adds: “We expect a significant demand increase for green hydrogen in the short and medium term. As an investor with a strong footprint and ongoing focus within the energy transition space, we aim to play a role in this fast growing and capital intensive market and believe VoltH2 as well as Virya Energy are excellent partners to realise these ambitions.”

About VoltH2

VoltH2 focuses on the design, development, construction and operation of green hydrogen facilities in Europe. The first two production facilities are currently being developed in Vlissingen and Terneuzen (the Netherlands). Both are expected to be operational in 2025. At start-up, each facility will produce nearly 2 million kg (1,890 tonnes) of green hydrogen per year. In time, this production will grow with the hydrogen market and will be scaled up. Because of its strategic location within North Sea Port, the end product will be transportable by road, rail and waterways. Local industry will be able to purchase green hydrogen in order to meet its environmental objectives. Recently, the project for a third green hydrogen facility was started in Delfzijl (within Groningen Seaports). VoltH2 is a collaboration between Volt Energy (the company of founder André Jurres), Virya Energy and DIF Capital Partners. www.volth2.com

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 11 billion in assets under management across ten closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.
Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 190 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Thijs Verburg, t.verburg@dif.eu.

About Virya Energy

Virya Energy was founded in late 2019 by Colruyt Group and Korys. The energy holding company has shares in Parkwind, Eurowatt, Eoly Energy, Sanchore and recently also in VoltH2.

Virya Energy focuses on the development, financing, construction, exploitation and storage of renewable energy. All of these companies possess a wealth of complementary expertise. By sharing knowledge and enabling them to work together, Virya Energy aims to create economies of scale and take a leading role in the rapidly evolving renewable energy sector. Virya Energy and its subsidiaries worldwide have a capacity of 1 GW of green energy. This includes onshore and offshore wind power and a number of initiatives for green hydrogen such as Hyoffwind.

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24 March 2022 | Schiphol

PGGM Infrastructure Fund and DIF Capital Partners reach agreement for intended acquisition of Enexis-subsidiary Fudura

Proposed new owners announce substantial investments in company with key role in Dutch energy transition

A consortium of DIF Capital Partners, through its DIF Infrastructure VI fund (“DIF”), and PGGM Infrastructure Fund (“PGGM”) has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Fudura B.V., a subsidiary of Enexis Groep. PGGM and DIF will both acquire 50 percent of the shares. PGGM invests pension capital from, among others, Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn for its three million participants, while DIF’s investment fund is supported by a large number of Dutch and international pension funds and insurance companies.

Fudura is the market leading B2B provider of medium-voltage electricity infrastructure (mainly transformers), metering devices and related data services in the Netherlands. With the intended acquisition, the new investors add a company to their investment portfolios that plays an important role in the Dutch energy transition. Fudura is active in offering services to companies seeking solutions for energy efficiency, security of energy supply and CO2 neutrality. Fudura currently has 22,000 business customers, being a combination of larger companies, public institutions such as hospitals, and SMEs. Within all these client segments there is a great urgency for a more sustainable energy consumption.

Fudura’s strategy to broaden its services within the energy transition is fully endorsed by the new intended shareholders. Various solutions will be offered, such as the delivery of solar panels, batteries, EV chargers and electric heating solutions. With this, Fudura wants to meet the increased demand from business customers to reduce their CO2 footprint, reduce dependence on natural gas and guarantee energy security.

René Pruijssers, director of Fudura: ,,As director of Fudura I am very pleased with selecting DIF and PGGM. With these partners Fudura can further develop as the energy transition platform for business customers. Fudura’s customers, employees and partners will benefit from the knowledge and ambition of DIF and PGGM to make the Netherlands more sustainable.’’

Erik van de Brake, head of Infrastructure at PGGM: ,,Fudura fits perfectly into PGGM’s strategy to make long-term investments for our clients, including Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn, which are not only financially attractive, but also have a positive impact on our society. We are faced with the enormous task of making the Netherlands CO2 neutral within a few decades, and companies such as Fudura play a very important role in this. Fudura will become part of our investment portfolio, which, in addition to Fudura, also contains a number of other investments that play a key role in realizing the energy transition and will help to accelerate it.’’

Gijs Voskuyl, head of Core Infrastructure at DIF: ,,We are delighted with the acquisition of a 50% stake in Fudura. The company’s leading role in the energy transition in the Netherlands fits seamlessly with DIF’s own ambitions including having a CO2-neutral investment portfolio by 2050 the latest. In addition, we expect that DIF’s expertise in previous energy transition investments will contribute to a fruitful collaboration with both Fudura and co-shareholder PGGM.’’

Enexis and the consortium of DIF and PGGM have also made agreements about employment, sustainability and continuity of Fudura. The consortium of DIF and PGGM sees Fudura as a platform for the energy transition and commits itself to Fudura for a long period of time. The employment and working conditions of Fudura’s employees are guaranteed and there is support for Fudura’s strategy and its role in the energy transition. These agreements are laid down in the signed document and are an integral part of this intended transaction.

About Fudura

Fudura B.V. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Enexis Groep and is active in the non-regulated part of the energy market. Fudura focuses on business services to optimize and make the energy supply of more than 22,000 business customers in the Netherlands more sustainable. Fudura provides advice, measures, designs and realizes infrastructures and manages and maintains meters, charging stations, transformers and switchgear. Fudura is the market leader in its segment.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 10 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).
DIF CIF funds target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 180 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

About PGGM

PGGM is a not-for-profit cooperative pension fund service provider. As a pensions administrator, asset manager and advisor to pension fund boards, it executes its social mandate: to provide for good old-age incomes for 4.4 million participants in the Netherlands. On December 31, 2021 PGGM managed long-term pension capital of EUR 291 billion worldwide. Rooted firmly in the Dutch healthcare sector, PGGM develops innovative provisions for labour market issues in this sector, alone or with strategic partners. Our member organisation PGGM&CO supports 764,000 workers and pensioners with a background in healthcare. www.pggm.nl.

For more information:

DIF Capital Partners

Allard Ruijs, a.ruijs@dif.eu, +31 (0)20 655 47 05

PGGM Corporate Communications

Maurice Wilbrink, maurice.wilbrink@pggm.nl, +31 (0)30 277 97 35

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