December 23, 2015: Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors (“Rubicon”) acted as exclusive M&A advisor to Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras (“Iridium”), a subsidiary of Grupo ACS, on the sale of a 40% stake in Barcelona’s Line 9 Section II project and related maintenance company to John Laing Infrastructure Fund (“JLIF”), the FTSE 250 listed infrastructure investment company.
The transaction represents JLIF’s first investment in the Spanish PPP market. The deal is expected to be completed in the coming weeks (subject to customary approvals).
Line 9 is a landmark project for the Barcelona region which will ultimately connect the city centre with many of the city’s most important economic areas, including the port, airport and university district. Upon completion, Line 9 will be the longest ‘driverless train’ metro line in Europe.
The Line 9 Section II concession is for the DBFOM of 15 metro stations along the system. The concession has over 27 years remaining and full availability-based payments for all stations are being received by the concessionaire. Iridium will remain involved in the project, both as an equity participant (10% stake) and as a service provider.
Commenting today, Carmen Lopez, Managing Director of Rubicon, said “We congratulate both Iridium and JLIF on their new partnership in this important asset and are pleased we could provide our expertise to help bring this transaction to a successful conclusion. With our role in the sale of similar landmark assets in Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga earlier this year, Rubicon has established itself as a leading infrastructure advisor in Spain”.
This transaction represents Rubicon’s ninth assignment across Europe and North America to have reached a successful conclusion in 2015. In total, these nine assignments represent a cumulative enterprise value in excess of €6 billion, further reinforcing Rubicon’s position as one of Europe’s leading infrastructure M&A firms.
About Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors:
With representation in Dublin, New York and Sydney, Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors is a specialist investment banking firm focused solely on the global infrastructure market. The firm’s team comprises industry experts with extensive experience and who have advised or structured over €200 billion worth of infrastructure transactions across multiple sectors and jurisdictions.
Since being established just 4 years ago, Rubicon has assisted numerous clients in the acquisition, disposal or financing of over 50 individual assets covering multiple infrastructure and energy sectors located across the globe with a cumulative enterprise value in excess of €15 billion. Rubicon is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.