International Public Partnerships Regulatory News (INPP)

15 Aug 2007 11:31

Babcock&Brown Public Ptnrships Ltd15 August 2007 Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships acquires BeNEX stake Following a meeting of the Supervisory Board of Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HochbahnAG), Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited (LSE: BBPP or the "Company")was today announced as the successful bidder of a 49% stake in the newlyestablished Hochbahn AG subsidiary named BeNEX. Hochbahn AG is the secondlargest Local Public Passenger Transportation (LPPT) company in Germany and is100% owned by the federal state City of Hamburg. Hochbahn AG has placed all its existing expansion activities in the Local PublicPassenger Transportation (LPPT) sector outside the metropolitan region ofHamburg into BeNEX. BeNEX has shares in four rail transportation companies(cantus, metronom, NBE nordbahn, and ODEG) and in four bus transportationcompanies (FBG Fulda, KVG Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft, Stadtverkehr Lubeck, andWiBus Wiesbadener Busgesellschaft). The investment was sourced by the Company's investment adviser, Babcock & BrownInvestment Management Limited, a subsidiary of the Babcock & Brown Group, whoseworldwide network of 29 offices staffed by more than 1000 staff (including morethat 300 dedicated infrastructure specialists), offers substantial resource inthe origination and execution of investment opportunities for the Company. Giles Frost, Director of BBPP, said "This is a very exciting acquisition for theCompany. The transaction represents BBPP's first acquisition in the Germanmarket and would combine Hamburger Hochbahn's experience and strong track recordin the German LPPT market and BBPP's experience in the development and financingof public private partnerships, creating a powerful partnership in a marketwhich is likely to see an increasing number of PPP-style transportinfrastructure initiatives. BBPP, through BeNEX, plans to actively participatein future local bus and rail tenders and will also examine the potentialacquisition of existing LPPT businesses across Germany. "This transaction is immediately yield accretive for BBPP investors anddistributions over the first four years of our investment are fixed at anattractive pre-agreed level. BBPP will finance the acquisition from fundsavailable for investment, but still retains sufficient cash to fund furtheropportunities. The Board remains confident that we will be fully invested by theyear end. "We remain focused on delivering shareholder value by pursuing internationalpublic infrastructure opportunities that offer stable long-term cash flows andattractive returns relative to their risk profile", said Giles Frost. The acquisition has yet to reach financial close and is subject to agreement bythe relevant regulatory and competition authorities, at which time furtherfinancial details will be disclosed to BBPP investors. For further information, please contact: Babcock & Brown: +44 (0)20 7203 7300 Investors Bianca FrancisMedia Anthony Kennaway Notes to Editors About Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited: Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited is a limited liability, Guernseyincorporated, closed-ended investment company. The Company offers shareholdersan exposure to investment in infrastructure assets, particularly those with apublic or social character such as those developed under public bodies underprivate finance initiative or public private partnership procurements. The Company floated on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 9thNovember 2006 and on 14 August 2007 had a market capitalisation of £323.3mmillion. The portfolio now comprises 25 projects - 13 developed under the UK PFIPrivate Finance Initiative; 6 under the UK NHS Local Improvement Finance Trustprocurement, 4 Australian PPP projects, a Canadian P3 contract and this GermanPPP. There is diversification geographically as well as across several PPP/PFIsectors, including roads and tunnels, railways, schools, courthouses, police andcustodial facilities, government offices and health facilities. Babcock & Brownhas been responsible for the development and management of the majority of theseassets and through Babcock & Brown Investment Management Limited (BBIML) willcontinue to manage them for the benefit of BBPP. In the future BBPP intends to capitalise on the development andinternationalisation of private finance initiative (PFI) and public privatepartnerships (PPP) procurement models for public infrastructure in otherdeveloped countries, which it is anticipated will provide numerous investmentopportunities for BBPP. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange