OMERS Private Equity and AIMCo Announce Sale of Majority Stake in ERM to KKR
London, 17 May 2021 – OMERS Private Equity and Alberta Investment Management Corporation, on behalf of certain of its clients (“AIMCo”), today announced that they have signed an agreement to sell their majority stake in Environmental Resources Management (“ERM,” or “the Company”) to KKR.
UK headquartered ERM is the world’s largest pure-play sustainability consultancy, operating in over 40 countries with over 5,500 partners and employees globally. ERM partners with the world’s leading organizations to create innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlock commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.
Since investing in ERM in 2015, OMERS Private Equity and AIMCo have worked closely with the Company and its management to support the business’ continued growth and development. This growth has been both organic and M&A-driven, with ERM having acquired and successfully integrated 14 highly complementary businesses during OMERS and AIMCo’s investment period.
During this period of sustained financial and operational success, ERM’s management team has been led by CEO Keryn James.
Jonathan Mussellwhite, Senior Managing Director and Head of OMERS European Private Equity, said:
“When OMERS invested alongside the management and AIMCo in 2015, we saw an opportunity to back the market leader in an industry with considerable long-term growth potential, led by a proven, highly-capable and ambitious management team. ERM has been a perfect match for OMERS Private Equity, our partnership approach and our substantial, evergreen capital base.
The sale of ERM is OMERS Private Equity’s fourth realisation in Europe and our fifth successful exit globally in the past three years. Each sale has resulted in strong income, supporting OMERS core commitment of delivering sustainable, affordable and meaningful pensions for our members. We continue to look for opportunities to deploy capital across Europe as we build our European Private Equity business.”
James Frankish, Director, OMERS Private Equity, said:
“Since 2015, we have supported the Company and its management in ERM’s ambitious growth strategy with great results. As ERM has expanded into new focus sectors such as power, chemicals, and technology, and media and telecoms, ERM has also reinforced its leadership position in corporate sustainability and climate change. ERM moves on from our period of investment significantly enhanced in scale and capability, and well-placed to further deliver critical services to its customers around the world. We wish the business, its management and its employees the very best for the future.”
Peter Teti, Senior Vice President, Private Equity, AIMCo said:
“AIMCo, on behalf of its clients, is proud to have been part of ERM’s journey to be the leading environmental and sustainability advisor globally. Our partnership with the management team and employees of ERM has helped position the Company to grow to new heights with the support of an investment from KKR. We would like to thank the management team and employees of ERM for their unwavering commitment to the Company and its purpose. AIMCo will continue to seek opportunities to partner with great management teams and companies as we continue to grow our global Private Equity platform.”
Keryn James, CEO, ERM said:
“We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with KKR, which will drive a long-term path for growth for ERM - broadening the scope of our client service and deepening our impact on sustainability. I’m so proud of the strong, well-regarded company that we have built, with the support of OMERS Private Equity and AIMCo in recent years. It is our performance working alongside clients to address their most pressing challenges and opportunities that helped position ERM as the right fit for KKR’s investment philosophy.”
The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2021 subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Notes for Editors
Contact
Neil Hrab
OMERS Manager, Global Media Relations
+14163692418
nhrab@omers.com
Dénes Németh
Vice-President, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
+17809324013
denes.nemeth@aimco.ca
About OMERS and OMERS Private Equity:
Founded in 1962, OMERS is one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, with C$105 billion in net assets as at December 31, 2020. OMERS invests and administers pensions for more than half a million members through originating and managing a diversified portfolio of investments in public markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate.
OMERS had private equity net investment asset exposure of C$14.8 billion as at December 31, 2020. OMERS Private Equity, the private equity investment arm of OMERS with a team of investment professionals in London, New York, Singapore and Toronto, seeks to use its significant and differentiated capital base to partner with management teams of industry leading businesses.
For more information, please visit www.omersprivateequity.com
About Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than C$120 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta. AIMCo’s head office is located in Edmonton, Alberta, with additional offices located in Toronto, London, and Luxembourg.
AIMCo’s Private Equity team is comprised of a dedicated group of experienced investment professionals and manages a private equity allocation of approximately C$8.0 billion.
More information is available at www.aimco.ca
About ERM
ERM is the business of sustainability. As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, ERM partners with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.
ERM’s diverse team of over 5,500 world-class experts in over 150 offices in 40 countries supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability. Through ERM’s deep technical expertise. clients are well positioned to address their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues. ERM calls this capability its “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.
For more information, please visit www.erm.com