Bruno Alves
The toll road operator says it has placed an expression of interest for Sydney’s A$1.6bn Lane Cove Tunnel, which was placed in receivership last month after its sponsor failed to pay interest on A$1.16 billion of outstanding debt.
The property group has mandated HSBC Mexico to act as fiduciary and help raise a $256m industrial fund focusing on investments in logistics platforms across Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The new vehicle will target returns of between 13% and 16% and is expected to be fully invested in four years’ time.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is waiting for final approval to lend €100m to the sponsors of Pulkovo airport – Russia’s first airport PPP, in St. Petersburg. Russian bank VTB is seeking commercial banks to participate in the project alongside other multilaterals.
Belgian transmission operator Elia is in talks with Australia’s Industry Funds Management regarding a joint bid for Vattenfall’s German grid. The consortium is reportedly considering bidding around €800m for the asset. Vattenfall reopened the auction for its grid in November after exclusive talks with a Goldman Sachs/Allianz/RREEF consortium broke down over price.
Polish open pension schemes ended up being the biggest subscribers to the government’s share offer for 16% of Enea – Poland’s third-largest power group. The government intends to sell the remaining 51% it owns in Enea later this year for a control premium. RWE was in negotiations late last year to buy 67% of Enea but the sale fell through over price disagreements.
After several delays, France’s €1bn GSM-R rail communication PPP is set to reach financial close next week with between eight to ten commercial banks. The latest issue holding banks from writing the final cheque has been the need to get assurances regarding the status of the 15-year contract should rail agency RFF – a public company – be privatised in the future.
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.
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.
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.