Fund manager Meridiam Infrastructure has taken an 85% stake in a company that will finance, design and construct a cycling stadium in Paris. The firm had previously built a portfolio of European and North American road PPP assets since its launch in 2008.
The first state-backed, pan-European infrastructure fund is expected to receive over five bids next month. But shareholders of the €275m vehicle will have to decide whether to sell the whole portfolio or selected assets.
Abu Dhabi’s $2.7bn Mafraq-Gwheifat highway – the Gulf emirate’s first road PPP – attracted final bids from four of the five original bidders. A winner is expected to be announced in the second half of this year.
The Natixis-sponsored fund raised its total commitments to €600m at the end of 2009, adding a new institutional investor. A final close of €1bn is targeted for the first half of this year.
Glenn Stone, project finance partner at financial adviser Grant Thornton, in the UK, has been appointed head of infrastructure for the firm’s US division. The firm will target high-speed rail in the US.
A government minister has predicted that the year ahead will see high-speed rail projects in the UK gather momentum, as a landmark report on the sector is published.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is reported to have joined one of Canada’s largest pension funds to submit a bid for EDF’s UK electricity network. Goldman Sachs and advisory firm Lexicon Partners have reportedly been appointed to advise the consortium on their bid.
Ferrovial’s toll road subsidiary has sold a 60% stake in its Chilean business to Colombian infrastructure operator ISA. Cintra manages over 907 kilometres of road in Chile.
Government guarantees, a €1.5bn European infrastructure fund and the overarching presence of the European Investment Bank marked Europe’s infrastructure-friendly response to the crisis.
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s successful partnership with Cintra on the $2bn North Tarrant Expressway project set a precedent for LPs’ direct infrastructure investment in the US market. Could it be the start of a new trend?
Midway’s failed $2.5bn lease showed that a major US airport can indeed be privatised. To resurrect the deal in a politically viable way, Chicago will need a bid that matches or tops that price, and in 2009, at least, few saw that as a possibility.
InfrastructureInvestor looks back at 10 of the top infrastructure bankers operating in 2009. Chances are that in 2010 some of these financiers will lend their balance sheet to getting your next infrastructure deal done.
DIF has acquired 50% of Amey’s portfolio of 10 PFI projects while the Innisfree PFI Secondary Fund has scooped Kier’s 50% interest in two schools projects.
A Sydney toll road refinancing has taken Transurban’s total refinancing this year to €1.5bn. Six banks provided debt.
Matrix, AAC, Apax and LDC are among firms ending 2009 with fresh deals. Meanwhile, lawyers are lining up PE-backed IPOs and big ticket auctions continue for companies like Bridgepoint's Pets at Home.