Fundraising

InfraRed snaps up two road PPPs in the Carribean

The investment manager has bought majority stakes in the first two PPPs procured in Aruba through its InfraRed Infrastructure III Fund, which it reported as 95 percent invested in December.

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Nearing the end of its third infrastructure fund, InfraRed Capital Partners has acquired two government-procured road projects in the Dutch island of Aruba from Portuguese construction firm Mota-Engil.

Through InfraRed Infrastructure Fund III, the London-based investment manager purchased Mota-Engil’s 85 percent stake in Aruba’s first two transportation PPPs. The construction company said in a statement it will still build the projects but is transferring financing obligations to InfraRed.

One of the projects is to expand 7km of Watty Vos Boulevard to a four-lane road around the city of Oranjestad. The other is to expand the capacity of the existing main road from the Reina Beatrix Airport.

In December, InfraRed purchased a 50 percent interest in a $610 million Colombia road project, bringing its third infrastructure fund to 95 percent allocated. It has committed $970 million of equity from this fund.

The value of the Aruban road PPPs was not disclosed. InfraRed did not reply to a request for comment.

InfraRed Infrastructure Fund III, which closed in October 2011 at $1.2 billion, is the investment manager’s fourth unlisted infrastructure fund. According to filings with Companies House, InfraRed registered its next fund as InfraRed Infrastructure V last October.

The company’s strategy has been to invest in greenfield infrastructure and energy assets in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Along with the Colombia road project InfraRed invested in last December, it agreed to pay £78 million ($101.7 million; €91 million) for a 50MW Scottish wind farm in September.

Mota-Engil said in a statement the deal shows the company’s ability to “attract new investors for its projects, namely large international infrastructure players, based on its track-record and technical and human competencies”.

Mota-Engil was named the preferred bidder to develop the Watty Vos Boulevard project in July 2015. It obtained the rights to build the second project through an agreement with Colombian construction company Odinsa group, selling its 10 percent stake in a Colombian road project.