ADIA buys into I Squared’s Indian roads platform

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has joined I Squared Capital and the International Finance Corporation as a minority shareholder in Cube Highways, an India-focused toll road investment platform.

The shareholders of Cube Highways “will look to invest up to $1 billion in new capital towards the acquisition of additional roads and highways, as well as new platform company investments in areas such as National Highways Authority of India’s Toll-Operate-Transfer programme, Hybrid Annuity Model and other areas”, read a statement from I Squared, which co-founded Cube Highways alongside the IFC.

Cube Highways has signed a definitive agreement for a minority stake sale to an entity wholly owned by ADIA. The transaction details were not disclosed and I Squared had not responded to queries for further details by the time of publication.

“This new capital commitment comes at a very exciting time, especially following the positive reforms undertaken by NHAI and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,” said Gautam Bhandari, I Squared partner and director of Cube Highways.

Cube Highways, based in Singapore, owns and operates more than 1,300 lane-km of highways in India. It has its own executive and engineering teams to manage a diverse portfolio of toll and annuity-based roads, including the first AAA-rated NHAI toll road in the country.

In March, Cube Highways made its third investment in the country by buying a 100 percent stake in Andhra Pradesh Expressways, an operating annuity road project, from IL&FSS Transport Networks for an undisclosed sum. The project covers a 75km, four-lane road stretch on national highway NH-44, between the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.