Global private equity and infrastructure firm Ara Partners has launched a new strategy to decarbonise conventional energy assets in North America in collaboration with a family office client. Ara Energy Decarbonisation was developed in partnership with HF Capital, the family office of the Haslam family who created Pilot Company, North America’s largest travel centre and transportation fuel business. Ara has approximately US$6.2 billion in assets under management. HF Capital has committed up to US$725 million with the goal of acquiring and optimising operations, as well as decarbonising energy businesses and assets. According to the International Energy Agency, the energy sector is responsible for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy will be led by Shameek Konar, Head of Energy Decarbonisation at Ara, and a team of energy and commodities experts targeting investments in the conventional energy value chain, including power generation, and supply and distribution businesses. Konar has more than 25 years of experience in the energy sector, and before joining Ara spent more than two years as CEO of the Haslam family’s Pilot Company. “With Shameek, his team, and the Haslam Family’s partnership, we gain the expertise needed to integrate substantial climate impact across another hard-to-abate sector without disrupting energy output,” said Charles Cherington, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Ara. “This is an important milestone for Ara as we continue to decarbonise the most critical and pollution intensive sectors to advance the global transition to net zero.”
