US PE firm sells Reliance Home Comfort to HK tycoon Li Ka-Shing

CKP will purchase Reliance through its subsidiary CKP (Canada) Holdings, according to a release. It will pay with cash and assume the company’s debt. After the transaction CKP will transfer a stake of up to 25% to Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, another group company. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to conclude in the first half of 2017.

Reliance leases and services water heaters, furnaces and air conditioning units for the consumer market, with about 1.7 million customers across Canada. Alinda bought Reliance’s predecessor, UE Waterheater Income Fund, in 2007 for C$1.7 billion. Following CKP’s acquisition Reliance will continue to be based in Ontario, and the existing management team will remain in place.

“For our Group, Canada has always been an important market. We have had very positive experiences nurturing Canadian businesses like Husky Energy and Park'N Fly. We hope that Reliance will also grow and succeed just like our other Canadian companies, creating value to Canadians and contributing to the growth and development of the country's economy,” said Victor Li, managing director of CKP.

Alinda invests on transportation, energy and telecommunications infrastructure assets primarily based in North America and Europe. It claims to have more than $9 billion in assets under management across seven countries that serve more than 100 million customers globally.

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• Topics
• North America
• Greater China
• Trade sale
• Infrastructure
• Canada
• Hong Kong (China)
• Li Ka-Shing