Alberta’s manager joins an investor group taking half of a 12-site British waste operator
AIMCo has made its first investment in the energy-from-waste sector on behalf of its Alberta pension, endowment, insurance, and government fund clients, joining an Equitix-led group that acquired a 50 percent interest in Viridor Group, the UK’s largest energy-from-waste platform.
The interests were acquired from KKR, which retains the other 50 percent, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) said in its Wednesday release.
GCM Grosvenor invested alongside AIMCo in the group, which holds a co-control position.
Viridor operates 12 energy-from-waste facilities across the UK, with two additional facilities in construction.
Per the release, the investor group was drawn to the platform’s market-leading position, long-term contracted and inflation-linked cash flows, diversified operating footprint and development pipeline.
Ben Hawkins, executive managing director and global head of infrastructure, renewable resources and energy transition at AIMCo, said Viridor is a business “providing an essential service” with long-term cash flow and opportunities for growth.
He said the holding broadens the infrastructure portfolio and supports AIMCo’s goal of long-term returns for clients.
AIMCo’s infrastructure portfolio returned 3.3 percent in 2025, and both the Balanced Fund and the Total Fund underperformed their benchmarks, according to a previous report by Benefits and Pensions Monitor on AIMCo’s full-year investment results and asset mix.
Chief investment officer Justin Lord has signalled appetite for further private-market deployment, as covered in the publication’s report on the CIO’s position on private credit and US exposure.
Equitix chief investment officer Achal Bhuwania said in the same release that Viridor has “essential infrastructure assets” and “utility-like characteristics.”
He said the company has exposure to “resource recovery and decarbonisation.”
Equitix signed an agreement in December 2025 to acquire a substantial minority stake in Viridor Group from KKR, with a path to acquire up to 50 percent, the London-based manager said in its own announcement at the time.
That transaction built on an existing 35 percent shareholding in Viridor’s Energy division.
AIMCo managed more than $210.7bn of assets as at June 30, 2026, according to the release, with offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, London, and Luxembourg.
Equitix manages approximately US$20bn for global institutional investors and was established in 2007, targeting small to mid-market European infrastructure.
Canadian plan investors have been formalising cross-border infrastructure channels in parallel, including the memorandum of understanding covered in Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s report on the Maple 8 agreement with Australian superannuation funds.
Neither AIMCo nor Equitix disclosed the transaction value, the size of AIMCo’s individual interest within the 50 percent group holding, or the closing date.
