History

The beginnings of the OMERS Infrastructure story extend back to the late 1990s with the founding of Borealis, a private markets investment firm based in Toronto, Canada. Borealis’ investment philosophy was guided by a strong belief in the importance of deep in-house expertise. It cultivated knowledgeable internal teams necessary to evaluate transactions involving large assets and a significant degree of complexity –including in terms of government regulation, business operations and stakeholder relationships. Borealis also prioritized investments with significant governance rights to position itself for success.

Borealis makes its initial infrastructure investments in 1999. Through Borealis, OMERS invests in Nova Scotia Schools, Enwave, Long Term Care facilities and the Detroit River Tunnel Partnership.

Through Borealis, OMERS becomes an investor in Ontario’s Bruce Power.

OMERS aggressively expands its horizons in infrastructure investing, with the goal of building a global investment business. In 2005 Borealis makes its first investment outside Canada in the UK (Scotia Gas Networks), and later grows its presence in Europe with the opening of an office in London in 2008.

The New York office opens in 2011, shortly followed by an office in Amsterdam in 2013 and Sydney in 2014.
In 2013, Borealis further expands to continental Europe with an investment in the Czech Republic followed by investments in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Spain in 2014 - 2016.

Borealis becomes an investor in Australia’s Port of Melbourne in 2016.

Borealis Infrastructure formally changes its name to OMERS Infrastructure.

OMERS Infrastructure announces first-ever telecom investment, via consortium formed to participate in fibre-to-the-home build-out in France. Expands global renewable energy holdings with acquisition of Leeward Renewable Energy.

OMERS Infrastructure’s presence in Germany and Australia increases through further investments in communications and energy, respectively, helping diversify worldwide holdings.

In 2023, OMERS Infrastructure grows to $36bn AUM and has 30 assets in North America, Western Europe, India and Australia.