ACS said today that it is in ‘advanced negotiations’ to sell its 10% stake in Abertis, valued at €920m, to the toll road developer and a ‘third party’. Abertis will pass part of the acquired shares to Spanish company OHL, in exchange for acquiring its Brazilian and Chilean toll roads portfolio.
AXA Private Equity has resumed closings for its third infrastructure fund after uncertainty related to the unit’s future momentarily slowed down fundraising. Spin-out talks for the unit are continuing, with a structure emerging that will give management and employees a significant stake in the business.
AXA Private Equity, Infracapital Partners and the South Korean National Pension Service are set to square off against a team of Goldman Sachs, USS and CVC Capital Partners to buy Veolia Environnement’s UK water assets, valued at around the £1bn mark.
AXA, Cube and the FSI – all shareholders in French water company SAUR – are fiercely opposing fellow shareholder Seche’s plan to take over the company. An arbitrator has been brought on board to try and break the shareholder deadlock as the clock ticks away on a May 27 takeover deadline.
The French infrastructure investor – fresh from closing its second, Europe-focused infrastructure vehicle on €935m – is targeting a final close of around $1bn this summer for its North America fund.
Most of the investors in the French fund manager's second, European-focused infrastructure fund are institutional investors from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America that have not invested with the firm before.
Farhad Billimoria, one of four founding members of AMP Capital’s New York team, is leaving the firm to join the infrastructure investment operation at US pension giant CalPERS. The former head of AMP’s US team, Tom Majewski, left for RBS in September last year. Only two team members currently remain.
The French fund manager has closed its second infrastructure fund, raising €300m more than it did for its first infrastructure vehicle, which closed in 2008. Meridiam is said to be still fundraising for its $1bn North America-focused fund, which is scheduled to close in summer.
David Rees, formerly of international utility National Grid, has joined Rob Verrion as co-head of asset management for European infrastructure in AMP Capital’s London office.
Infrastructure boss Macky Tall reveals the pension is ‘currently developing a strategy on how to play the emerging market opportunity’ as the Caisse seeks to grow its 12-person infrastructure team to closer to 18 people.
The Paris-based fund manager – together with Acciona and Cintra – has been awarded a 30-year concession for a stretch of Spain’s A66 highway. The road deal is Meridiam’s second in Spain, after the same team signed up to build a €150m portion of the A334 freeway in Almeria.
The Spanish developer has bought 500 mobile communication towers from telecommunications operator Telefonica for €45m. The deal marks Abertis’ entrance into the mobile infrastructure market, with the developer eyeing a further 500 towers before the year is out.
The London-based fund manager has teamed up with Brisa’s largest shareholder to try to take it over. The partners are offering €2.66 per share for the Portuguese toll road operator and plan to de-list it if the takeover is successful.
The state’s $147bn pension system rebuts a senator’s claim that it has paid too much in fees to managers – but its peers have shown that big savings are possible.
The infrastructure fund, dedicated to infrastructure investments in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, has bought the stake from Turkish developer Limak, which acquired the port from the Turkish government earlier this year.