Fundraising

DIF, Egis pick up Irish utility’s road assets for €50m

The Dutch infrastructure fund has bought two road assets from renewable energy group NTR with French construction firm Egis picking up NTR’s roads maintenance business. The asset sales netted NTR €50m and mark an exit from almost the whole of its toll roads portfolio.

-

Irish renewable energy group NTR has sold most of its roads business to DIF’s second infrastructure fund and French construction group Egis, NTR announced yesterday.

The asset sales include the divestment of East Link Limited – a wholly owned subsidiary of NTR that manages a toll bridge in Dublin – and NTR’s shareholding in the Dundalk Western Bypass, located in County Loth, near the border with Northern Ireland.

In addition, NTR also sold its roads operation and maintenance business to Egis Road Operation, a subsidiary of Egis. The combined value of these divestments is €50 million, NTR said in a statement.

NTR chief executive Jim Barry said the sales “will allow NTR to continue to invest in the growth and development of our renewable and sustainable waste management portfolio”. He also added that the divestments mark “a major milestone for the group, as East-Link was NTR’s first ever infrastructure investment and the transaction marks NTR’s substantive exit from its legacy road business.”

However, NTR will still retain its shareholding in two toll road concessions expiring in 2036 and 2037, the company said.

DIF’s second infrastructure fund reached final close earlier this month on €571 million, collecting an additional €71 million over its original €500 million target. The fund is already close to 50 percent invested and expects to have €400 million invested by the end of this year.