KKR Buys Majority Stake in Environmental Resources Management from OMERS and AIMCo
Posted on 05/17/2021
OMERS Private Equity and Alberta Investment Management Corporation, on behalf of certain of its clients (AIMCo), signed an agreement to sell their majority 60% stake in Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to KKR. As part of the deal, ERM’s management team and partners will retain a minority stake in the business. U.K.-headquartered ERM is the world’s largest pure-play sustainability consultancy, operating in over 40 countries with over 5,500 partners and employees globally. Since investing in ERM in 2015, OMERS Private Equity and AIMCo have worked closely with ERM 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 integrated 14 highly complementary businesses during OMERS and AIMCo’s investment period. The deal is believed to value ERM at around US$ 2.85 billion in enterprise value.
OMERS had a little over 40% of the business while AIMCo had just under 20%, with ERM management holding the balance.
The sale of ERM is OMERS Private Equity’s fourth realization in Europe in the past three years.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 subject to certain conditions, including regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed. OMERS Private Equity is a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.