Three pension funds and providers agreed to acquire Spanish infrastructure management company Globalvia Infraestructuras for up to €420 million ($462 million.)
Dutch pension fund provider PGGM; £48 billion ($74 billion) Universities Superannuation Scheme, London; and OPTrust, which manages the C$17.5 billion ($13.4 billion) Ontario Public Service Employees Union Pension Plan, Toronto, announced the acquisition Monday. The firm will be acquired from Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and Bankia.
A spokesman for PGGM, which has €186.6 billion in assets under management, and manages the assets of the €161.7 billion Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn, Zeist, Netherlands, confirmed the agreement.
An initial payment of €166 million will be paid, with a deferred payment of up to €254 million to follow. Time frames and further details on the deal, which is subject to certain approvals and authorizations, were not disclosed. Spokesmen for PGGM and OPTrust said the split of equity ownership in Globalvia has not been disclosed.
The three investors held a €750 million convertible loan on Globalvia, said a statement by the consortium. OPTrust and PGGM committed to a €400 million convertible loan facility in October 2011, split equally between the two, said a spokeswoman for OPTrust in an e-mail. USS’ participation was announced in December 2013, adding a €150 million commitment. OPTrust and PGGM also increased their commitments to €350 million each at the time. Therefore, the convertible loan was split 40:40:20 between OPTrust, PGGM and USS, respectively.
They had previously notified the sellers of Globalvia that they intended to exercise their right as the holders of this loan, to match an offer received by the sellers. The consortium acquired 100% of the shares.
Globalvia manages 29 projects in seven countries, focusing primarily on highways and railways.
The consortium was advised by Deutsche Bank as sole financial adviser, and by Allen & Overy as legal counsel.
A spokeswoman for USS could not be reached for comment by press time.
