CBRE Investment Management to Acquire One of the Largest Bus Operators in Norway

CBRE Investment Management, through its Private Infrastructure team, has entered into an agreement with Torghatten AS to acquire Torghatten’s bus division (“Torghatten Land”), which comprises Norgesbuss AS, Trønderbilene AS, Torghatten Buss AS, Sørlandsruta AS, Fosen Verkstedservice AS and TTS Bil-og, Dekksenter AS. This investment is in keeping with the firm’s commitment to delivering sustainable real assets solutions.

CBRE Investment Management is making the investment on behalf of one of its funds as well as some of its separately managed accounts.  It represents CBRE Investment Management’s third infrastructure investment completed in the Nordics since 2019.

Torghatten Land is one of Norway’s largest bus operators and also has a presence in Sweden. The bus operator provides public bus services for Public Transport Authorities and, to a limited extent, commercial bus services and workshop services (maintenance and repair for vehicles including servicing Torghatten’s bus fleet). The group employs approximately 2,200 employees and operates approximately 1,500 buses.

Torghatten Land is an industry leader in shifting to electrical vehicles (EV) and has been focusing on transitioning its bus fleet toward greener propulsion technologies. By 2022, Torghatten Land will operate 159 EV buses, which represents over 10% of its fleet.

“We are acquiring a leading bus operator with a strong performance track record in a market that demonstrates non-cyclical characteristics due to the critical need for public transport,” commented Andreas Köttering, Head of Europe Private Infrastructure at CBRE Investment Management. “Our continued investment into sustainable transport is also of significant importance to us as a business. With the fleet continuing to transition to electric within the next few years, we expect that we will be operating a transport business with a significantly reduced carbon footprint, which aligns with our ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon performance by 2040.”

“The Board has over a period of time received inquiries from several parties for Torghatten Land, highlighting the potential for the bus division to be a stand-alone entity. The transaction was therefore initiated on the back of several offers, and as such is not a result of an active and structured sales process,” says Roger Granheim, CEO of Torghatten AS, and continues; “We consider CBRE Investment Management to be a strong future owner of Torghatten Land who can support and further develop the division on several levels in the years to come. The transaction will make Torghatten AS a pure play sea transportation company, with a continued focus on the further development of sustainable transportation by ferries and express boats."

The acquisition of Torghatten Land is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q4.

CBRE Investment Management was advised in this transaction by financial adviser, PwC, and legal counsel, Thommessen. Torghatten was advised by financial adviser, Nordea Bank Abp, filial in Norway and legal counsel, the law firm Selmer AS.

About CBRE Investment Management

CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $129.1 billion in AUM* as of June 30, 2021, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with $129.1 billion in AUM* as of June 30, 2021, operating in more than 30 offices and 20 countries around the world. Through its investor-operator culture, the firm seeks to deliver sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, people and communities thrive.

CBRE Investment Management is an independently operated affiliate of CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE), the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2020 revenue). CBRE has more than 100,000 employees serving clients in more than 100 countries. CBRE Investment Management harnesses CBRE’s data and market insights, investment sourcing and other resources for the benefit of its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbreim.com.

*AUM refers to the assets under management, fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets; equity in funds and joint ventures; securities portfolios; operating companies and real assets-related loans. This AUM is intended principally to reflect the extent of CBRE Investment Management’s presence in the global real assets market, and its calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and from its calculation of regulatory assets under management for purposes of certain regulatory filings.

About Torghatten

Torghatten AS is one of the country’s leading transport companies, with an annual revenue of approximately NOK 6 billion and about 3,500 employees. The company’s core business is within sea and land transportation – distributed across ferries, express boats, and buses in Norway and Sweden. Torghatten is owned by EQT and Nysnö Climate Investments.