Paris-based fund manager Antin Infrastructure Partners recently announced a €515m second close for its €1bn-target Antin IP fund. At a media briefing, CEO Alain Rauscher said he was confident fundraising has taken a turn for the better and spoke about where new deal opportunities lie.
The Canadian construction and engineering group has formed a joint venture with Russian development bank Vnesheconombank. SNC Lavalin will provide technical assistance and budget audits on infrastructure projects being financed by the development bank.
Chief executive Michael Powell said in a recent interview with InfrastructureInvestor that he wants to make the UK pension a leading co-investor in infrastructure. He said the focus for fund investments would be on re-ups with managers the pension already has a relationship with.
Hadrian’s Wall Capital is set to make an announcement regarding its planned infrastructure debt fund soon. In a recent statement, the vehicle is described as a provider of subordinated debt within senior-ranking infrastructure bonds.
CP Eaton Partners says LPs are adopting a “wait and see” attitude towards infrastructure investments in the US. The placement agent cites political and financial obstacles as the chief reason for this and thinks the energy sector has the most potential for upside.
For limited partners, it may be a source of immense frustration that access to infrastructure investment is limited at a time of great opportunity. They will need to think carefully about how to overcome this.
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure has teamed with Egyptian construction firm Orascom to raise what could be a multibillion investment vehicle.
The €200bn pension plans to channel an extra €2bn for infrastructure investments over the next three years. Infrastructure funds are likely to benefit since ABP has no plans to invest directly.
Two French concessionaires, Abertis-owned Sanef and Vinci, have signed an agreement with the French government to spend €1bn making their roads network more environment-friendly. In exchange, the government will extend their concessions for an extra year.
The government has been in talks with key industry figures on creating conditions for pension funds to become cornerstone investors in infrastructure. Mervyn Davies, the trade and investment minister, said the government could cover construction risk to attract pensions.
The Slovakian authorities and a Hochtief/Alpine/FCC/Western Carpathian Motorway Company consortium have reached commercial close for a €2bn section of the country’s D1 highway. The road is the last in a package of three road PPPs originally launched by the government. Financial close is targeted by the end of June 2010.
The Polish government and a Cintra-led consortium have rescinded the PPP contract for a €2.1bn section of the A1 motorway, after they failed to agree on the contract’s economic parameters ahead of a January 22 deadline for financial close. The road will now be built from the Polish government’s budget.
Ferrovial-owned Tube Lines, responsible for upgrading London’s underground rail, has lost a compensation claim of £327m for overruns incurred in works for two of the underground’s lines. The decision is another blow for the PPP contractor, which was told in December that its capex programme for the next seven years was £1.35bn too expensive.
Infrastructure investors should not overlook the renewables sector in 2010, which is poised to present them with some ripe investment opportunities.
An executive with the world’s biggest rail operator said the company is seeking to separately list two of its units in the hopes of raising up to $3.5bn. However, Russian Railways said there are no plans to sell shares in the company itself.