Global Via’s chief executive is targeting pensions and sovereign wealth funds as new shareholders for the Spanish developer. Macquarie and JP Morgan are advising the firm on a capital increase of some €500m, which could be completed in the first half of 2011.
Hochtief’s Australian subsidiary has appealed to Australia’s Takeovers Panel to declare ACS’ takeover offer of Hochtief ‘unacceptable’. Leighton is trying to avoid ACS gaining control of it without offering a fully priced bid for the Australian company.
The Spanish infrastructure group says it wants to sell a 10% stake in the UK airports operator to help pay down debt. However, Ferrovial stresses that it will continue to be a long-term investor in BAA.
UK Chancellor George Osborne's spending cuts sidestepped several road PFI projects, Nottingham Tram, Crossrail and a new high-speed rail network. A £1bn Green Investment Bank was also launched to help channel private sector investment into renewable projects.
The high risk profile of Asian infrastructure makes it more of an opportunistic play for pensions rather than core, according to a speaker at the Infrastructure Investor: Asia forum in Singapore. There is also confusion about some funds' investment mandates.
ASIC has told Hochtief that it will not require ACS to submit an offer for subsidiary Leighton Holdings as part of its takeover of the German firm. Hochtief says it will now appeal to Australia’s Takeovers Panel on the matter but ACS responded it is confident the panel will reconfirm ASIC’s decision.
Speaking at the Infrastructure Investor: Asia conference in Singapore, Bindu Lohani, of the Asian Development Bank, outlined areas where private capital could play a greater role and spoke of moves to make the region's capital markets more attractive.
Oleg Deripaska’s Basic Element has been given until November 5 to buy back a 25% stake in the Austrian builder. The Russian firm had to return its stake to Strabag’s main shareholders in late 2009 after it failed to refinance part of the debt it used to acquire it for €1bn in 2007.
Long-term concessions of water utilities illustrate that higher user rates result from public sector under-investment in infrastructure, not exorbitant profiteering by the private sector. By Richard G. Little.
Leighton has lodged an appeal with the Australian regulator asking that ACS make a ‘fully priced cash bid’ for its minority shareholdings should it take over Hochtief, which owns over 54% of Leighton. ACS, meanwhile, will ask shareholders to allow it to increase its capital by up to €6bn to strengthen its bid for Hochtief.
A final draft of the AIFM directive is close to agreement and its latest form is ‘something the industry can work with’, according to the head of EVCA.
Sergio Ronga has taken over at the head of Macquarie Capital Advisers’ UK and European debt advisory team from Spence Clunie, having been part of the business almost since its inception. Clunie left Macquarie earlier this year to launch new business Ancala Partners.
As it strives to achieve value for money, the UK government should avoid alienating the private sector partners it needs more than ever, writes Andy Thomson.
UK developer John Laing has announced its intention to float a new fund – the John Laing Infrastructure Fund – on the London Stock Exchange, with the intention of raising up to £270m. The proceeds from the float will buy mature assets from John Laing itself.
Renewable energy investment firm Good Energies has invested a reported $200m alongside Google and Marubeni Corporation in the development phase of the $5bn Atlantic Wind Connection, a ‘transmission backbone’ to be built in 2013 off the US Atlantic Coast to service offshore wind farms.