Alexandra Atiya
The Norwegian firm has paid $440m to acquire a stake in Brazilian renewable firm Desenvix. As part of the purchase, SN Power has also formed a joint venture with Desenvix’s shareholders, including Funcef, Brazil’s third-largest pension fund, to develop 1,000MW of hydropower projects by 2018.
The Indian development finance institution and the US-based venture capital firm have launched a new Indian infrastructure fund targeting $500m from both foreign and domestic investors. IFCI has agreed to commit 10% of the fund’s total capital.
A subsidiary of Austrian developer Strabag has won a 30-year public-private partnership contract to upgrade a residential facility at a hospital in Bavaria. Strabag said gross investment in the project is expected to be €30m.
The London-based firm has hired Stuart Marks, senior investment director in Meridiam’s New York office and former member of Babcock & Brown’s Social and Transportation Infrastructure group, to focus on North American public-private partnerships.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the country’s next Five-Year Plan, set to begin in 2012, would 'further accelerate' the pace of infrastructure growth in the country. Also, the Finance Ministry outlined a plan to allow foreign investors to buy up to $3 billion in infrastructure debt.
The Texas Department of Transportation had planned to issue a request for qualifications for the road project by August 15, but has decided to postpone the RFQ in order to assess the “feasibility of a public sector financed delivery option versus a private sector financed option”.
The C$6bn Regime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins pension fund has acquired a stake in a British Columbia hydroelectric project from mid-market firm Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure for an undisclosed sum.
A recent report from the Building America’s Future coalition - chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - argues that PPPs are 'imperative to raising necessary funds in these budget-strapped times'.
Marc Lemon, former chief counsel to the Federal Highway Administration, has joined the global infrastructure and public-private partnerships practice of McKenna Long & Aldridge.
Ohio opened up the possibility of leasing the 241-mile toll road earlier this year. Now the state’s Department of Transportation is looking for a consultant to advise on the potential concession and help select a private partner.