In a letter to the CEO of FINRA dated 18 December 2009, obtained by PEM, the director of the SEC's division of investment management said the SEC might create an exception to the ban for registered broker-dealers acting as legitimate placement agents, if FINRA can implement rules that would prohibit pay-to-play practices. Read the full text of the letter.
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has announced the creation of a unit dedicated to infrastructure investment – CDC Infrastructure. The new vehicle intends to acquire minority stakes in PPPs across the transport, energy and environmental sectors. CDC Infrastructure will mostly target brownfields and starts with a portfolio of nine holdings worth €600m.
The UK’s Competition Commission has launched an appeal against a ruling in December last year that it had shown “apparent bias” in ordering BAA to sell some of its British airports.
Italian construction company Astaldi said during the presentation of its 2009 results that it plans to place its concessions in a separate company by the end of June this year. The plan is to then open up the concessions unit to outside investors once the business matures.
Although bank financing is beginning to pick up, debt availability is still well beneath pre-crisis levels, creating a clear opportunity for debt fund managers to fill the void.
The global private equity investor has changed hands for the second time in six years.
Ferrovial subsidiary Amey has sold a 50% stake in its PFI business – Amey Ventures – to DIF Infrastructure Fund II. The deal will give DIF equal ownership of 10 PFI projects but doesn’t include Amey’s beleaguered contract to upgrade London’s underground rail. Amey’s PFI portfolio is said to be worth over £300m.
Financial group Duet is targeting the UK PFI market with a new senior debt fund. The firm is currently fundraising for its new vehicle which intends to provide debt for short-term bridging facilities. A timeline for the fund has yet to be announced but Duet says it plans to have over £1bn of assets under management in five years’ time.
Indian developers GMR Infrastructure and Oriental Structural Engineers have been awarded a 19-year concession to build, operate and eventually transfer back to public ownership the 99km Hungund to Hospet stretch of highway in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
The Soteria consortium - including Royal Bank of Scotland, French defence contractor Thales and helicopter specialist CHC – has been selected as the preferred bidder for the UK’s £5bn Search and Rescue Helicopter PFI. The contract will last for 25 years with the private partner to start providing services to the Ministry of Defence in 2012.
Magnus Christensson has left placement agent Atlantic-Pacific after nearly eight years to help build Jefferies’ global placement business.
Italy's Impreglio and Brazil’s CR Almeida Group, the controlling shareholders of Ecorodovias, will sell their stakes in the company via the IPO. Neither the timeline nor the number of shares to be sold are yet known. Ecorodovias is one of Brazil’s largest toll road operators, managing over 1,450 kilometres of roads.
Intentionally or otherwise, the prospect of forcing public pensions to invest in infrastructure was raised this week. Such talk is encouraged by politicians – but not necessarily welcomed by pensions.
Royal Bank of Scotland has pulled together a club of eight banks to join it in reaching financial close for Bilfinger Berger’s €562m Peninsula Link – a 25-kilometre road near Melbourne. The deal reasserts RBS’ presence in the PPP market, after it was forced to scale back its activity when it ran into trouble following the financial crisis.
Nicolas Merigo, formerly the head of Santander Infrastructure Capital, has been appointed chief executive of Marguerite Adviser, the advisory body that will be responsible for originating investments for the EU’s €1.5 billion Marguerite infrastructure fund. The fund is expected to reach a first close on March 3 2010.