19th May 2016 07:00
19 May 2016
John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited ("JLIF")
Agreement for Acquisition of P3 Concession for 23 service plazas in the US
JLIF, the FTSE 250 listed infrastructure investment company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in Project Service LLC (the 'Operator'), the provider of 23 highway service areas in the State of Connecticut (USA), between New York and Boston.
JLIF has purchased the interest from Carlyle Infrastructure Service Plazas, L.P. (an affiliate of The Carlyle Group), Doctor's Associates Inc. (the parent company of Subway Restaurants) and Subcon, Inc. (a major Subway franchisee and developer). The acquisition is JLIF's first entry into the US P3 market and will take the total number of assets within JLIF's portfolio to 61. The equity value is the US Dollar equivalent of approximately £72 million and will be funded using JLIF's multi-currency revolving credit facility. JLIF expects the acquisition to complete in the coming weeks subject to the satisfaction of the conditions as agreed between the parties.
The project involves the operation and maintenance of 23 highway service areas along Interstate 95, Interstate 395 and Route 15, under a 35-year exclusive concession signed in 2009 with the State of Connecticut acting through the Connecticut Department of Transport. The planned renovation of all 23 facilities, as agreed under the concession signed in 2009, was completed in August 2015 and all 23 highway service areas are now fully operational. The Operator is the exclusive provider of Connecticut's on-highway fuel and food facilities along one of the main artery routes between New York and Boston. The Operator has long term tenant agreements in place (15-35 years) with major food and fuel providers including four key anchor tenants including McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts, Subway Restaurants and Alliance Energy (Mobil brand). The majority of the revenues from the concession are generated from these anchor tenants. Further, as part of the concession agreements, the Operator pays the Connecticut Department of Transport a share of the Revenues over the life of the concession which ensures strong public-sector alignment.
The discount rate applied for the valuation of the project was within the range used for the valuation of JLIF's portfolio as at 31 December 2015.
Andrew Charlesworth from John Laing Capital Management ("JLCM"), Investment Adviser to JLIF, said:
"We are pleased to secure our first investment in the US market, which we anticipate may represent a significant source of growth for JLIF over the medium and long term. It represents the third transaction since December 2015 in which JLIF has secured an exclusive bilateral position. We look forward to working with the experienced management team at the Operator and the Connecticut Department of Transport."
For further information, please contact:
JLCM 020 7901 3326
Andrew Charlesworth
Finsbury 020 7251 3801
Faeth Birch
Philip Walters
JLIF is one of Europe's largest listed infrastructure funds, trading on the London Stock Exchange. As an equity stakeholder, JLIF partners with public sector counterparties across the world to deliver key local and national infrastructure projects. In return these provide government-backed, inflation-linked revenue streams to our business. JLIF's continued success is built on a collaborative approach, centred on long term relationships with its clients such that their changing infrastructure needs can be met in a timely and cost effective way.
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