Antin Infrastructure Partners is exploring the sale of district energy firm Vicinity Energy and has launched a process to hire a sellside financial advisor, sources familiar with the sale said.

The firm invited firms to participate in a bakeoff around mid-July, one of the sources said. It is unclear whether the company has mandated an advisor yet.

Antin and Vicinity did not respond to requests for comment.

Antin first acquired its US district energy business from Veolia Environmental in a USD 1.25bn enterprise value deal announced July 2019. In January 2020, the platform was rebranded as Vicinity Energy, with its headquarters in Boston.

Vicinity operates 19 district energy systems in 12 cities, according to the company’s website.

Vicinity has also been engaged in the university energy public-private partnership (P3) sector. The firm submitted an unsolicited proposal to West Virginia University (WVU) in February 2023, though WVU cancelled the procurement later that year.

Vicinity was also on one of the shortlisted teams on the University of Florida’s central energy plant P3 project in 2023. That process was ultimately cancelled, as the university chose not to pursue a P3.

Vicinity is led by president and CEO Kevin Hagerty.