Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corp., Victoria, made a £1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) bid to buy London-listed infrastructure investor BBGI Global Infrastructure, taking the company private.
A transaction announcement said a newly formed special limited partnership indirectly controlled by BCI — named Boswell Holdings — had reached an agreement on the all-cash offer at a 21.1% premium.
Canadian pension fund BCI had C$229.5 billion ($169.4 billion) in assets as of March 31. The investment in BBGI will be made via BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources program, which invests in tangible long-life assets. It has a portfolio of direct investments in companies across sectors that include regulated utilities, energy and timberland.
BBGI is an internally managed equity infrastructure fund listed on the London Stock Exchange and based in Luxembourg. The firm focuses on social infrastructure investments across sectors that include transport, health and education, and in developed markets, including Canada, the U.K. and U.S.
“We believe BBGI will be a compelling and strategic addition to BCI’s infrastructure and renewable resources portfolio, with a diversified mix of international holdings across the transport, clean energy, healthcare, education and social infrastructure sectors,” said Grant Hodgkins, senior director, infrastructure and renewable resources at BCI, in the transaction announcement. “We see many opportunities to leverage our expertise, global relationships and access to long-term capital, alongside BBGI’s experienced management team and proven asset management strategies, to drive further growth and value creation across the BBGI portfolio.”
Duncan Ball, CEO of BBGI, added in the announcement that the BBGI supervisory and management boards have “concluded that the offer is in the best interests of BBGI shareholders and BBGI as a whole.”
BBGI listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 2011.
