Michael Dinham, head of infrastructure finance in Europe for banking group ING, believes institutional investors may be missing a trick by over-estimating the risks and difficulties of long-term lending to infrastructure.
The fund manager has lent £14.4m of senior debt for a 5MW solar plant and £11.25m of subordinated debt for two PFI projects. Both are long-term loans, but Gravis is actually earning more from the senior debt loan than from the subordinated debt piece.
The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board has approved direct co-investment in infrastructure. The newly minted provision will go into effect between the third and fourth quarter.
The listed vehicle said it is placing over 29m ordinary shares to help repay debt used in new acquisitions and capitalise on a ‘buoyant’ PPP/PFI secondary market. Parent John Laing will also seek to sell close to 5% of its 23% share in JLIF in a secondary placing.
SMBC and Mitsubishi UFJ have further advanced on the strong showings they made in the mandated lead arranger tables in 2011, but no-one has usurped the dominance of BBVA.
Governor Nathan Deal has approved legislation that will allow the state’s $13bn Employees’ Retirement System to invest up to 5% of its assets in alternatives.
OHL now owns 14.7% of toll road developer Abertis - behind Spanish bank La Caixa (28.5%) and CVC Capital Partners (15.5%) - after ACS sold its entire stake in Abertis for €875m.
Under Steve LeBlanc’s leadership, the private markets programme expanded at a fast clip, with the system averaging ‘two to three’ investments per month.
ACS said today that it is in ‘advanced negotiations’ to sell its 10% stake in Abertis, valued at €920m, to the toll road developer and a ‘third party’. Abertis will pass part of the acquired shares to Spanish company OHL, in exchange for acquiring its Brazilian and Chilean toll roads portfolio.
AXA Private Equity has resumed closings for its third infrastructure fund after uncertainty related to the unit’s future momentarily slowed down fundraising. Spin-out talks for the unit are continuing, with a structure emerging that will give management and employees a significant stake in the business.