Matthieu Favas
The asset manager, which recently launched a new core infrastructure fund, is teaming up with two developers to build a stretch of the A6.
The ‘all-Australian’ consortium’s unsolicited offer was chosen just two months after the government blocked bids by two Chinese suitors.
We polled 90 limited partners on what they intend to do with their infrastructure programmes next year.
Global investors have had their eyes on the innovative structure used to fund London’s £4.2bn ‘super-sewer’. But with Thames Tideway Tunnel now in the sights of the UK’s spending watchdog, we investigate whether investors should be worried.
The deal, which is said to be worth just under €1.6bn, will be funded by the Australian firm’s recently closed fifth European vehicle.
Among the touted advantages of listed infrastructure securities, the strongest may be their lower prices compared to private assets. As unlisted funds set their sights on the market, though, the gap could quickly narrow.
The looming conclusion of GIB’s privatisation process is expected to see the government sell off its entire stake, bar a single ‘golden’ share, for about £2bn.
The sovereign wealth fund will pay €495m for the stake, valuing the Spanish developer’s third-largest unit at €3.7bn.
The firm says its Community Infrastructure Fund is starting to attract interest from global investors, having welcomed its first overseas LP earlier this year.
Commitments from its first Asian and Middle Eastern LPs helped propel the French firm past its original €900m hard-cap.