CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") announced today that funds advised by CVC have signed an agreement to acquire PKPE Energetyka ("PKPE), the energy unit of the Polish National Railways ("PKP") in a transaction that puts an enterprise value on the business of PLN 1,965m (approx. €477m).
PKP Energetyka is a cross-country electricity distributor to the Polish railway network and to other customers. It also provides nationwide maintenance and emergency response services to the railway network, operates fuel stations for diesel locomotives and is active in electricity and gas reselling.
CVC has a track record of successfully investing in regulated industries and major strategic assets across Europe such as its 2002 investment in Inalta, the operator of a nationwide high-voltage electricity network in Spain, its 2008 investment in Evonik, the world’s largest speciality chemicals company based in Germany and its 2011 investment in Delachaux, the global rail infrastructure group headquartered in France.
István Szoke, Partner at CVC, commented: "We are excited about our first stand alone, direct investment in Poland and expect to expand our business and on the ground presence in the years to come. We are looking forward to working with the management and employees of PKPE and supporting the on-going multiyear investment programme as we seek to develop the business to be able to perform on par with the best- in-class global operators."
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q3 2015. Unicredit acted as financial adviser to CVC with CMS acting as legal counsel.