Date Closed

September 15, 2021

Lead Office

Montréal

Value

160.00 Million CAD

On September 15, 2021, the Société de financement et d’accompagnement en performance énergétique s.e.c. (SOFIAC) entered into credit facilities of C$160 million provided by the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Fiera Private Debt.

Together with a C$30 million equity commitment by Fondaction, SOFIAC will develop C$200 million in energy efficiency projects in respect of commercial and industrial assets, properties or facilities located in the Province of Québec. They will enable commercial, industrial and multi-residential buildings in Quebec to be modernized and their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduced. SOFIAC was launched in January 2021, and is an initiative of Econoler and Fondaction, with the support of the Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles du Québec (MERN). These investments will enable SOFIAC to extend its turnkey solution for large-scale energy efficiency retrofits to owners of buildings whose overall annual energy expenditure totals more than one million dollars, thereby significantly reducing their costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

SOFIAC is managed by EcoFunds Asset Management Inc., a joint venture between Econoler Inc., a Québec-based energy efficiency consultancy, and Fondaction.

Econoler is a Québec-based international firm with 40 years of experience in the design, implementation, evaluation and financing of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs and projects.

Fondaction is a labour-sponsored fund with assets in excess of two billion dollars collected as retirement savings from more than 176 thousand shareholders. Fondaction’s direct investments and those made through investment funds support the development of companies across Québec. Fondaction prioritizes investments that generate positive economic, social and environmental impacts in addition to a financial return.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank is mandated to invest $35 billion in federal funding and attract private sector investment in new revenue-generating infrastructure projects that are in the public interest and support Canada's economic growth.

Fiera Private Debt, a subsidiary of Fiera Capital Corporation, is a leading pan-Canadian diversified non-bank private debt platform.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP represented SOFIAC with a team led by Richard O'Doherty that included Jacob Stone, Alexandre Saulnier-Marceau, and Mireille Trottier (Financial Services) and Mathieu Laflamme (Business).