The Pensions Infrastructure Platform Limited (PiP) has been acquired, in its entirety, by Foresight Group LLP, following a "competitive process" run by the PiP board.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed in around a month, will see Foresight’s assets under management rise by 38 per cent, to £6.5bn.

Foresight described the acquisition as having “strategic importance”, emphasising that it will "immediately" boost the firms infrastructure offering with a broader scope of investments .

It is also expected to "accelerate" the application of the group’s recognised environmental and sustainable investment capability into other infrastructure sectors.

PiP CEO, Paula Burgess, is to become a Foresight partner, and the entire PiP team, including CIO Ed Wilson and head of asset management Andy Clapp, will also join the Foresight infrastructure team.

Burgess emphasised that this combination would allow the PiP team to continue working with UK pension funds, whilst also bringing "additional skills and resources to bear", and attracting more investment as part of a larger platform.

PIP was founded in 2013 under the leadership of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, and is backed by a number of major UK pension schemes, including British Airways, Pension Protection Fund, Railpen and local government pension schemes Strathclyde and West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF).

The platform provides investment expertise and asset management to pension funds investing in UK infrastructure.

It has a portfolio of 17 assets, mostly through the PIP Multi-Strategy Infrastrtucure Fund, covering the Energy from Waste, Renewables, Social and Transport sectors, with a NAV in excess of £700 million.

Commenting on the sale, WMPF, director of pensions, Rachel Brothwood, added: “As a founding investor, West Midlands has built a strong partnership with PiP which has enabled effective growth in a range of long-term UK infrastructure investments, targeting inflation-linked returns and cashflow required to help pay pensions.

"We look forward to continuing to build on that foundation with Foresight as both the fund’s investment strategy and market opportunities continue to evolve.”

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