The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is entering a partnership to acquire a Dutch energy firm.

The Algemene Pensioen Groep, a Dutch pension plan, and the infrastructure arm of the OMERS have reached an agreement to jointly acquire Groendus Group from NPM Capital Partners. Based in the Netherlands, Groendus is an energy transition platform created in 2021 through the merger of six companies in rooftop solar, metering and energy service spaces.

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The acquisition comes as Groendus is moving into new energy transition solutions, including electric vehicle charging and battery storage, according to a press release.

“In Groendus, we see an excellent opportunity for OMERS to invest into an energy transition growth platform with a clear mission to enable its commercial, industrial and public customers to decarbonize,” Alastair Hall, senior managing director and head of renewables for Europe for the OMERS Infrastructure, in the release.

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In other news, the Alberta Investment Management Corp. is acquiring two billion shares in a Canadian contract drilling company as part of a debt conversion agreement.

The shares, which represent about 49.25 per cent of outstanding common stocks, will be transferred to the AIMCo in exchange for its absorption of $100 million of debt held by Western Energy Services Corp. The debt conversion was one element of a comprehensive recapitalization by Western to restructure a portion of its outstanding debt and raise new capital, according to a press release.

As a condition of the debt conversion, the AIMCo entered into an investor rights agreement with Western and its investees, G2S2 Capital Inc., Armco Alberta Inc., Matco Investments Ltd. and Ronald P. Mathison. The agreement gives the AIMCo the right to nominate two directors for election to the board of Western as long as the institutional investor holds more than 30 per cent of the outstanding common shares, the release noted.

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