Bruno Alves
The new coalition government has scrapped the previous government’s programme to refurbish all of England’s state-backed secondary schools. In practice, 715 projects have been cancelled while 706 will proceed where they have been completed or reached financial close.
The Spanish competition authority has suspended trading of shares in Abertis after they rose sharply earlier today on news that its main shareholders – La Caixa and ACS – are in talks with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners regarding a €25bn buyout of Abertis.
AXA Private Equity, Antin Infrastructure Partners, Goldman Sachs and Macquarie have expressed an initial interest in buying Spanish utility Endesa’s gas network in a deal that could be worth over €700m. Binding bids are expected in mid-September.
Brazil’s federal audit court has given the go-ahead for the Rio-São Paulo high-speed train, known as the bullet train, after cutting its price by $837m. A tender for the technically challenging project – it will require 91km of tunnels and 103km of bridges and viaducts – is now expected by the end of next week.
The ratings agency predicts that transport infrastructure companies will likely produce low growth throughout 2010 and 2011 but warns ‘there remains potential for unexpected negative events to derail the expected recovery’.
Mutua Madrileña, a Spanish insurance company, has become one of the country’s largest underground parking lot operators after it acquired FCC’s underground parking business for €120m.
Michael Till, co-head of infrastructure investments at the emerging markets specialist, reveals Actis’ plans for its Indian roads joint venture with Tata and explains why ‘capital has to be very patient in emerging markets’.
The listed infrastructure investment company, known as HICL, has acquired a combined 74.9% stake in the Queen Alexandra Hospital project from Carillion and Royal Bank of Scotland for £46.4m. The acquisition takes the number of infrastructure deals in HICL’s portfolio to 34.
An independent commission unveiled its recommendations yesterday for setting up a state-backed UK green investment bank. They include the creation of a new category of green bonds to satisfy a ‘real demand’ among pensions and insurers ‘for a new type of long-dated instrument’.
The Dutch construction company has been named preferred bidder for the €260m A12 motorway, in the Netherlands, beating competition from consortia led by DIF and Strabag. Financial close is expected in September.