The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has entered into an agreement to acquire significant minority stakes in five major Chilean toll roads from the Atlantia Group. The agreement involves CPPIB acquiring a 49.99% interest in Grupo Costanera. CPPIB will commit an equity investment of 560 billion Chilean pesos, or approximately C$1.14 billion.
“The addition of these five major urban toll roads in Chile is an excellent opportunity to expand our infrastructure portfolio in a developing market,” said Andre Bourbonnais, senior vice-president, private investments for CPPIB. “Chile’s strong economic growth prospects and its stable legal and regulatory framework make it an attractive country for investors like CPPIB.”
“With a long-term investment horizon, and the internal expertise to deploy capital in complicated transactions, CPPIB is one of only a few global institutional investors that is able to complete a transaction of this size and complexity,” said Mr. Bourbonnais.
Grupo Costanera is the largest urban toll road operator in Chile and owns a portfolio of five toll roads that span a 188-kilometre network. Four of the toll roads are located in the Santiago metropolitan region including two major commuter motorways, Costanera Norte and Vespucio Sur. The fifth toll road is located on the central coast of Chile.
Atlantia Group will continue to own the remaining 50.01% interest in Grupo Costanera.
At December 31, 2011, CPPIB’s infrastructure portfolio totaled C$8.6 billion, representing 5.6% of the CPP fund. In February 2012, CPPIB completed the C$3.18 billion acquisition of a 24.1% stake in the Gassled Joint Venture alongside its consortium partners Allianz Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Allianz SE, and Infinity Investments SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The Gassled Joint Venture owns the majority of the gas transport infrastructure on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.