Former Scotia Infra Head Launches Advisory Firm

Conor Kelly, former managing director and head of global infrastructure investment at Scotia Capital, has launched a new firm to advise on infrastructure transactions.

Launching today, Rubicon Infrastructure is to offer advice on infrastructure acquisitions, recapitalisation, and financing procurement in the form of bank credit and bond issuances. The firm is also to advise institutional investors looking to make direct investments in the sector.

Rubicon is to open with seven team members, including former Scotia director Carmen Lopez del Escobal, and is looking to enlist four more senior bankers by the end of the year. The company is domiciled in Dublin, and is to open a New York office in the first quarter of 2012.

According to Kelly, the global infrastructure M&A market is showing increasing activity as a number of incumbent players seek to sell-off non-core assets to raise capital.

He said: “Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors will seek to advise sell-side and buy-side clients looking to either raise capital through divestment or recapitalisation to fund future growth or invest capital in real assets, which are typically more resilient to volatility in global markets.”

The piece was written by Tom Brown on September 23, 2011.