Swedish pension company AMF has acquired a 12.5 per cent stake in electricity network company Ellevio AB.

AMF purchased the stake from Första AP-fonden and will own Ellevio together with the Canadian pension manager Omers, as well as Swedish co-owners Folksam and Tredje AP-fonden.

Ellevio is one of Sweden’s largest electricity network companies, with close to a million customers and an electricity network covering more than 79,000km.

The company owns and develops the electricity network in Stockholm and large parts of central and western Sweden.

It employs a total of 3,000 people around the country, with its head office based in Stockholm.

“We are happy about the opportunity to carry out the investment in Ellevio,” commented AMF responsible infrastructure manager, Fredrik Lundeborg.

“The company fits well into our portfolio, where we have grown strongly in infrastructure assets in recent years, and we look forward to being an active and long-term owner of the company.

“Ellevio owns and manages an important social resource, and the company has a central role in the transformation of the energy sector and the electrification of Sweden.”

In recent years, AMF has made several investments in infrastructure and energy, including in Finland's largest electricity distribution company Caruna Networks Oy and in the Swedish wind power company SR Energy.

Properties and other alternative assets currently make up around a third of AMF's combined traditional portfolio.

AMF head of alternative investments, Katarina Romberg, stated: “As an occupational pension administrator, with a long-term investment horizon and a stable financial position, we have particularly good opportunities to make this type of long-term investment in illiquid assets such as energy and infrastructure.

“This is a strength for us, as it means that we can continue to build a good spread of risk, and create the conditions for a stable long-term return for our savers.

“This strategic direction for our portfolio is important, not least in turbulent and uncertain times.”

Share Story: