iCON Infrastructure Partners II, L.P. has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Fortum fjernvarme AS and related holdings from Fortum Oyj, the Finnish energy company. The transaction forms part of the wider sale announced today by Fortum of its Norwegian electricity distribution and heating businesses.

Fortum's heat production and district heat and cooling business is one of the largest in Norway and consists of the fully-owned subsidiaries Fortum fjernvarme AS and Fortum Leasing KS as well as the following holdings: Lier fjernvarme AS (50%), Lier fjernvarme KS (45%), Drammen fjernvarme AS (50%), Drammen fjernvarme KS (45%) and Fredrikstad fjernvarme AS (35%). Heat production capacity consists mainly of heat pumps and business-to-business heat plants with a combined capacity of 210 megawatts.

In 2013, Fortum's Norwegian heat business delivered 215 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of district heat and 63 GWh of district cooling to its customers who are mainly in the greater Oslo and Akershus areas. The delivery of heat and cooling to customers will continue without disruption following the transaction and all 14 current employees will continue their work in the business.

Daniel Agostino, a Managing Partner of iCON Infrastructure LLP, said:

"iCON Infrastructure is delighted to welcome Fortum fjenvarme and the related companies to our strong portfolio of core infrastructure businesses and we look forward to working with Atle Nørstebø (CEO of Fortum fjernvarme), his team and their business partners to grow the company, consolidating on its leading position today and ensuring that customers continue to receive the same high quality service.

This investment further emphasises iCON Infrastructure's status as a reliable and complementary infrastructure partner for industrial companies looking to grow their businesses, following on from our recent investments in Verbrugge International and firmus energy."

In early April 2013, infrastructure investor iCON reached a final close on its second fund, iCON Infrastructure Partners II, L.P., with $599.95 million in commitments.

The iCON team spun out of Deutsche Bank into an independent investment firm, iCON Infrastructure LLP, in 2011. It targets mid-teen IRRs for its investors, with a principal focus on brownfield infrastructure. However, it can take some greenfield risk. Geography focus is Europe, North America and Australia.