4.5 billion Euro Cheung Kong Property Acquires German Smart Meter Company

[China Instrument Network Instrument Company] On July 31, Hong Kong Cheung Kong Property announced the acquisition of the German energy management company Ista, with a total investment of approximately 4.5 billion euros. The history of Ista can be traced back to the Danish company Clorius founded 110 years ago and the German Ista company established in 1957. Since the merger of the two companies, it has become a leader in the sub-metering (Sub-Metering) field.

Ista operates in 24 countries around the world, including Germany, France, and Spain, and manages energy for about 12 million buildings, including office buildings, commercial facilities, and residential buildings. By the end of 2016, the company installed approximately 53 million meters in 12 million residential apartments. Among them, the number of customers in Germany is 280,000, and 27 million meters are installed in 4.7 million apartments. Although Ista's business is doing well, the company's financial performance is not satisfactory, with losses of several million euros or more for consecutive years. In 2015, the amount of losses was even close to 20 million euros, and the revenue for that year was only 810 million euros, and the net interest rate was about -2.5%.

Cheung Kong Property will establish a joint investment company with Cheung Kong Infrastructure Group, which is part of the Cheung Kong Group, to acquire all Ista shares held by UK investment fund CVC Capital Partners. Cheung Kong plans to obtain approval from the EGM and relevant authorities to complete the transaction in 2017.

Most of Cheung Kong's investment amount will be used to repay debts and strive to turn a profit.

The Cheung Kong Group, led by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, has sold real estate in China and Hong Kong and is accelerating investments in overseas infrastructure businesses that are expected to achieve stable returns. Ista was the third major acquisition of the Group in 2017 after Duet Group, a large Australian energy company, and Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian construction equipment engineering company.

(Original Title: Cheung Kong Property Acquires German Smart Metering Company for 4.5 Billion Euros)