Clifford Chance has replaced CMS Cameron McKenna as legal advisers to Henderson on a dispute with several pension funds over the performance of its second infrastructure fund. The pensions have given Henderson until late September to draft a compensation scheme before taking it to court.
The Japan-headquartered international banking group has launched a representative office in Bogota with the aim of gaining “more business in sectors where SMBC has a competitive edge, such as project finance”.
Many projects that are eligible for the guarantee – which can cover up to 80% of the debt used to fund public-private partnership deals – have yet to reach financial close. This has led the government to consider extending its application beyond the original closing date of December 31 2010.
Consortia led by Eurotunnel/Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley/3i, Borealis/OTPP and Cheung Kong Infrastructure are all thought to have made it through to a second round of bidding. The sale is expected to net the government between £1.5bn and £2bn.
The Italian toll road operator has successfully raised €1.5bn via two bond issues but received applications from institutional investors exceeding €4.5bn. The funds raised will allow Atlantia to fund capex and meet its refinancing needs through to 2013.
PensionDanmark has teamed up with DONG Energy to acquire a 50% stake in the Nysted offshore wind farm, in Denmark. Under the deal, DONG is providing an operating guarantee to the Danish pension in exchange for a larger share of the operating profits if current price levels increase.
AMP Capital Investors has acquired the RBS Social Infrastructure Trust, a $74m fund with a portfolio of four social infrastructure public-private partnerships. AMP said it plans to raise more equity for the fund and enlarge its portfolio with similar assets.
The infrastructure secondaries opportunity is still at an embryonic stage but has "developed significantly" according to a report from Partners Group, the Swiss alternative assets manager. UK social infrastructure in particular is on the radar of investors.
Generali, Palladio Finanziaria and Veneto Banca have set up Venice European Investments, a fund targeting infrastructure and private equity. The new vehicle is starting with €400m and is aiming to reach a final close of €600m. It will replace Generali’s Valiance infrastructure fund.
Yearly infrastructure maintenance costs of €500bn are likely to pressure governments to create more investment opportunities for infrastructure investors, says First State Investments. Fiscal pressure on European corporates and EU directives calling on utilities to unbundle assets will also generate increased deal flow.
The president of the European Commission has called for new sources of finance to fund European Union infrastructure projects including 'EU project bonds', to be issued together with the EIB, and more public-private partnerships.
The infrastructure investor has acquired an additional 5% interest in a regasification plant in northern Spain, taking its total holding in the asset to 30%. The seller was Spanish oil and gas company Repsol.
Dan Clague, a leading figure in European infrastructure-related advisory, has moved from Société Générale to Hawkpoint Partners, where he becomes a managing director. He is a specialist in transport and business services.
US President Barack Obama will announce a transport infrastructure programme calling for at least $50bn of spending upfront. He will also call for the creation of an infrastructure bank that 'would leverage private and state and local capital to invest' in projects critical to the economy.
Antin Infrastructure, AXA Private Equity, Allianz, Goldman Sachs, Infracapital Partners, Macquarie and RREEF are among the funds thought to be involved in the bidding processes for four gas assets across Germany, Spain and Portugal.