3i European Operational Projects Fund, an infrastructure fund managed by 3i Group, has agreed to invest more than €100 million ($112 million) in four projects across Europe, taking total investment to 40 percent of the fund within a year of final close.
The assets include Cascais Hospital, MFM Capital, DISA Assets Limited, and Fermoy and Limerick motorways.
The fund has acquired a 90 percent stake in TDHOSP - Gestao do Edificio Hospitalar, S.A., the concessionaire in charge of the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of Cascais Hospital, a 277-bed facility located close to Lisbon. The stake was acquired from Teixeira Duarte Group, a Portuguese construction company, which will retain a minority stake. The concession was granted by the Portuguese State in 2008 with a duration of 30 years, and it became operational in February 2010.
3i EOPF has also completed the acquisition of a 95 percent stake in MFM Capital, a portfolio holding company, from Rekeep SpA (formerly Manutencoop Facility Management). The portfolio comprises stakes in four hospitals located in Monza, Legnano, Verona and Modena, the Terza Torre office accommodation building in Bologna (in which 3i EOPF already owns a stake) and an electricity efficiency project in Alessandria.
The fund has completed the acquisition of DISA Assets Limited, which leases a fleet of 54 new Alstom passenger trains to Abellio Rail Mitteldeutschland GmbH in Germany. DISA Assets Limited was sold by NS Financial Services, part of the Dutch railway group NS. The 14-year concession was granted by three local Public Transport Authorities and became fully operational in December 2018. This is a stable asset with an attractive yield profile and builds on 3i’s successful investments in the rail sector.
Lastly, the fund, alongside infrastructure investor TIIC, has signed an agreement to invest in two motorway projects in the Republic of Ireland. The two projects are Fermoy, a 17.5-kilometer (11.9-mile) section of the M8 motorway between Dublin and Cork, and Limerick, a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) section of the M7 ring road around the city of Limerick, including a 675-meter (,214-foot) tunnel under the Shannon river. The concession contracts, granted by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, will run until 2034 and 2041, respectively.
3i EOPF is a €456 million ($509 million) fund investing in operational projects across Europe, with a focus on France, the Benelux, Germany, Italy and Iberia. It targets a wide range of subsectors, primarily social infrastructure and transportation, but also telecoms and utilities. It aims to provide long-term yield to institutional investors.
