Bruno Alves
The ANITE consortium, led by Atlantia subsidiary Autostrade per l’Italia, has pulled out of the race for Abu Dhabi’s $2.7bn Mafraq-Gwheifat highway PPP. Three bidders are now left with a winner expected to be announced in the second half of the year.
The French-Canadian partnership has acquired three wind farms in France from renewable firm Theolia for €73m. The new farms add 47 megawatts to Boralex's European wind portfolio.
The new company – provisionally called Veolia-Transdev – would become one of the world leaders in passenger transportation and plans to attract new investors via a public listing.
PensionDanmark and PBU have agreed a €100m co-investment in a renewable energy fund run by a third pension, AP Pension. In a separate development ATP, a fourth Danish pension, will channel €1bn to a climate change fund.
The first state-backed, pan-European infrastructure fund is expected to receive over five bids next month. But shareholders of the €275m vehicle will have to decide whether to sell the whole portfolio or selected assets.
Abu Dhabi’s $2.7bn Mafraq-Gwheifat highway – the Gulf emirate’s first road PPP – attracted final bids from four of the five original bidders. A winner is expected to be announced in the second half of this year.
The Natixis-sponsored fund raised its total commitments to €600m at the end of 2009, adding a new institutional investor. A final close of €1bn is targeted for the first half of this year.
Glenn Stone, project finance partner at financial adviser Grant Thornton, in the UK, has been appointed head of infrastructure for the firm’s US division. The firm will target high-speed rail in the US.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is reported to have joined one of Canada’s largest pension funds to submit a bid for EDF’s UK electricity network. Goldman Sachs and advisory firm Lexicon Partners have reportedly been appointed to advise the consortium on their bid.
Ferrovial’s toll road subsidiary has sold a 60% stake in its Chilean business to Colombian infrastructure operator ISA. Cintra manages over 907 kilometres of road in Chile.