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LONDON (Alliance News) - 3i Infrastructure PLC Friday said it has committed to invest EUR11.7 million to acquire an 80% stake in the La Santé Prison primary public private partnership project in Paris, France.
As part of the move for the commitment to invest, 3i Infrastructure agreed a deal with a subsidiary of 3i Group PLC, BAM General Partner Ltd. Under the deal, BAM General Partner, the entity which originally qualified to participate in the project, has agreed to transfer its 80% stake to 3i Infrastructure. The fee for that transfer amounts to EUR32,000.
3i Group's 3i Investments PLC is 3i Infrastructure's investment adviser.
"We are pleased to reach financial close of the La Santé primary PPP project. We are seeing a healthy pipeline of investment opportunities in European primary PPP projects," Ben Loomes and Phil White, Managing Partners and Co-heads, Infrastructure, 3i Investments, said in a statement.
3i Infrastructure also said its lenders have issued a EUR11.65 million letter of credit to back up its commitment to invest that amount in the project. That letter of credit was issued under 3i Infrastructure's revolving credit facility.
The project includes the design, build, refurbishment, finance and maintenance of various buildings for La Santé, the Paris prison.
It will also include the provision of facilities management services once construction is complete, which is expected to be by the end of 2018.
The project was procured under a "typical" public private partnership framework by the Agence Publique pour l'immobilier de la Justice, part of the Ministry of Justice, and comes under a wider government initiative to modernise French prisons.
The remaining 20% stake in project company Quartier Santé S.A.S will be held by subsidiaries of Vinci Construction France and GDF-Suez.
3i Infrastructure shares were down 0.3% at 151.65 pence on Friday.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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