(Reuters) – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has made an initial $300 million equity investment in Britain’s Octopus Energy Group as part of a long-term strategic partnership, the firms said on Friday.
The investment and partnership with Octopus Energy was made through CPP Investment’s Sustainable Energies Group, which aims to increase its level of committed capital over time to support Octopus’ global expansion, they said.
The funding will support Octopus’ Kraken technology platform for deployment of smart energy and enable the addition of 30 more wind turbines to Octopus’ energy portfolio, they said.
The deal follows a recent investment of $600 million by Generation Investment Management, an investment fund co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore,
The latest investment brings Octopus Energy Group’s valuation to approximately $5 billion, it said.
Octopus Energy supplies energy to over 3 million customers in Britain and in September took over customers of failed supplier Avro Energy.
The company is also active in Germany, the United States, Spain, Italy, New Zealand and Japan.
CPP Investments is one of the world’s largest pension funds, managing 541 billion Canadian dollars ($425.41 billion), with its Sustainable Energies Group having invested approximately 19.5 billion Canadian dollars in global energy assets, including renewables, utilities, and power generation.
($1 = 1.2717 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo; editing by Jason Neely)
