Harrison Street and Kenon Holdings are buying a majority of the U.S. district energy operator seven years after Antin carved it out. Kenon's 25% stake costs about $450 million.
Antin Infrastructure Partners is selling control of Vicinity Energy, the U.S. district energy operator it carved out seven years ago, in the first exit for its fourth flagship infrastructure fund.
Harrison Street and Kenon Holdings are acquiring a majority of Vicinity from Antin, with Kenon taking a 25% equity interest for about $450 million in cash. The transaction values Vicinity at $2.92 billion, or €2.61 billion.
Antin Infrastructure Fund IV raised €6.5 billion in 2020. The Vicinity sale is its first realization, arriving in the fund's sixth year.
The arithmetic
Kenon's price implies an equity value of about $1.8 billion for all of Vicinity, or $450 million divided by 25%. That is well below the $2.92 billion headline valuation. The gap suggests the larger figure includes debt, which would make $2.92 billion closer to an enterprise value for the business.
A sponsor-to-sponsor sale
The deal is a private-market handoff: one infrastructure investor selling to another, with a listed company taking a minority stake. For the fund's investors, the timing is the data point. A first exit six years after a fund's close is an early marker of how quickly the vehicle can start returning capital.
What to watch
Closing, and any filing from Kenon describing the valuation basis, will show what the $2.92 billion covers. Further exits from Fund IV would show whether the Vicinity sale starts a run of realizations.