DIF, an independent and specialist infrastructure investor and fund manager, has announced the acquisition from Infravia and TIIC of a 66.7 percent stake in Albea SAS, a company that holds the concession to operate the A150 toll road in France.
The A150 is an 18-kilometer dual two-lane motorway located in Normandy, France. It connects the city of Rouen with the A29 running to Le Havre. The project reached financial close in 2011 and opened to traffic in February 2015, with the concession running until December 2066. The project was refinanced in November 2017 with €130 million ($153 million) of long-term financing provided by an institutional investor.
The toll road transaction was made through DIF Infrastructure V, which held a €1.9 billion ($1.1 billion) final close this month. The fund targets equity investments in public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, regulated assets and renewable energy projects that have long-term contracted or regulated income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows. The fund targets both greenfield and brownfield projects primarily in Europe, North America and Australasia.
The fund also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100 percent equity interest in American Roads this month. The company is being sold by an affiliate of Syncora Guarantee Inc., a wholly owned, New York financial guarantee insurance subsidiary of Syncora Holdings.