Pension Fund Of S.Africa’s Eskom To Invest $170 Mln In U.S. Projects

The pension fund of South Africa’s indebted power utility Eskom plans to invest $170 million in private equity, infrastructure and real estate projects in the United States, the U.S. embassy in South Africa said on Wednesday.

Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) will invest $100 million in private equity managed by AlpInvest and $30 million in real estate managed by Metropolitan. The two companies are owned by U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group CG.O.

The remaining $40 million infrastructure investment will be managed by KKR & Co KKR.N.

The transaction is being facilitated by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the embassy said.

EPPF representatives were not immediately available to comment.

EPPF, the pension fund for employees of Eskom and its subsidiaries, has nearly 145 billion rand ($8.97 billion) in assets under management.

The power utility has been mired in financial crisis for years. Its roughly 488 billion rand of debt is equivalent to more than 8% of South Africa’s gross domestic product, and it does not generate enough earnings to cover its debt service costs.

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