Bruno Alves
The consortium has paid just over €800m for Vattenfall’s German grid in a joint bid that will give Belgian transmission operator Elia a 60% stake in the grid with Australia’s Industry Funds Management owning the remaining 40%.
The government unveiled plans earlier today to build a 335-mile, £30bn high-speed rail network across the UK, dubbed the ‘fourth transport revolution’. Importantly, the door has been opened for the private sector to play a part in funding it.
The Australian investor has been named preferred bidder for the FARAC III road concession, its first Mexican project following its recent first close on its debut Mexican infrastructure fund. FARAC III is expected to be officially awarded in three weeks time.
UK PPP arbiter Chris Bolt has set the final cost for the upgrade of London’s underground rail at £4.46bn over the next seven-and-a-half years - £460m more than the London authorities are willing to pay. Mayor Boris Johnson threatens legal action against the arbiter.
Concessionaires are expected to agree to channel refinancing gains to help mitigate the increased availability payments they will receive from roads agency Estradas de Portugal.
The Scandinavian country’s first rail PPP, worth €660m, is moving forward with the Finnish rail authority having appointed legal and financial advisers for the project earlier this month. Initial offers are expected in September this year.
Arcus European Infrastructure Fund, RREEF and Peel Ports have attempted to acquire UK ports operator Forth Ports for £612m. But Forth Ports has rejected the offer, saying it undervalues its business. The consortium is considering a higher bid with Peel Group mulling the sale of a stake in its airports business to help shore up any future bid.
Jeff Kendrew has joined Brookfield Asset Management as chief development officer of its infrastructure unit. He was previously managing director and chief executive of Australian infrastructure fund Prime Infrastructure.
Swedish construction firm Skanska has sold a stake in a Norwegian road PPP to two of its employee pension funds. The company expects to book a capital gain of €14m from the sale.
The Spanish company said in a recent statement that it is prepared to lose its concessions in Argentina and Bolivia, which account for some 2% of the company’s revenues, as political risk mounts. However, this is just a precautionary measure, a spokesman said.