3i Infrastructure said on 26 October that its portfolio company Future Biogas would buy full ownership of six anaerobic digestion plants for £104m. It will provide initial equity, most of which it expects back by March.

What happened

Future Biogas agreed to buy the remaining 49% of the gas-to-grid plants from Foresight Environmental Infrastructure. It acquired the first 51% in August 2024, and the plants' EBITDA has grown by about 21% since then.

3i Infrastructure (LSE:3IN) said the price was consistent with its September 2026 valuation expectations for the plants. The deal will initially be funded by an Equity commitment from 3i Infrastructure and Future Biogas's existing cash, ahead of a refinancing of the business's capital structure.

The company did not disclose the size of the commitment. It expects most of the equity to be returned before its financial year ends in March 2027.

3i Infrastructure is a constituent of the FTSE All-Share index. It sits in the financial services sector and holds equity stakes in companies owning infrastructure businesses across Europe, North America and Asia.

Why it matters for investors

The deal itself is small relative to a company valued at about £3.64bn, but it shows the manager's approach of adding to existing platforms. Bernardo Sottomayor, a managing partner at 3i Investments, said full ownership would let Future Biogas "accelerate" its plans. Future Biogas chief executive Philipp Lukas made a similar point.

The temporary nature of the funding is worth following, because it relies on the planned refinancing proceeding as expected. Liquidity looks ample against this commitment: the 30 September pre-close update gave up to £1.2bn of available liquidity, including £267m of cash and a £900m undrawn facility, as at 29 September.

That update also set out the wider picture. The Dividend target for the year to March 2027 is 14.30p, up 6.3%, and the company expects it to be fully covered by net income. Total cash income and non-income receipts were £195m, including a £92m distribution from Joulz.

Most portfolio companies were delivering or beating expected returns, the company said. However, SRL was in line with a cautious outlook, while Ionisos had lower-than-expected Demand growth. New vessels at ESVAGT are delayed but still expected in 2027.

How the shares have performed

AJ Bell's data showed a trade at 395p on 3 November. Its 52-week range was 325p to 399.50p, with ticker.app dating the low to 31 March and the high to 25 August 2026. The shares were therefore about 1.1% below the high and about 21.5% above the low, on our calculation.

Ticker.app's page, updated on 2 November, showed a 0.8% fall over one month and a 1.6% rise over three months.

The latest reported NAV was 405.20p at 31 March 2026, and AJ Bell estimated it at 406.44p. Its discount was 3.06%, considerably narrower than the 12-month average of 8.41%. The listed Yield was 3.38%, while the FY27 target equates to about 3.6% at 395p on our calculation.

What to watch next

Half-year results for the period to 30 September are the next major reference point for NAV and return against target. No date was stated in the update reviewed.

Investors can also monitor the Future Biogas refinancing, and any further progress at the newly acquired Lefdal Mine Datacenter, where 3i manages the platform. With the discount near 3%, the market's confidence in valuations is another point to follow.