Saturday, March 07, 2015

Look Who's Bidding To Buy Indiana Toll Road

The Northwest Indiana Times' Keith Benman is reporting today on competition Lake and LaPorte Counties are facing in their bid to acquire a portion of the bankrupt Indiana Toll Road concessionaire. Citing an industry intelligence letter, InfraAmericas, at least three other consortiums have submitted bids to acquire the bankrupt toll toll road. One of the bids may surprise you.

Bids are being submitted by IFM Global Infrastructure Fund and a team of Spanish infrastructure investor Albertis and Toronto-based Borealis. A third bid is being submitted by Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, which includes the Spanish-owned Ferrovial Group's Cintra Group. Where have we heard that name before? Yes, that's the same firm that teamed up with the Australian-based Macquarie Group to acquire the toll road from the state of Indiana in 2006 for $3.8 billion--using mostly other people's money, of course.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought the entity that leased the toll road back around '06 reorganized under bankruptcy, it still runs the facility, and the state decided not to take the facility back after bankruptcy was filed. Who is accepting bids here - the leasee, a bankruptcy court, the state? Why are these northern Indiana counties only wanting to lease part of the facility?

Anonymous said...

Gary, take a long hard look at IFM. Talk about corruption at the top.

According to recent reports by the Australian Financial Review: "Industry superannuation fund heavyweights Garry Weaven and Brett Himbury are under pressure to resign from the board of global fund manager IFM Investors after a secret report into $700 million in losses at Pacific Hydro was blamed on lapses in corporate governance." http://www.afr.com/p/business/chanticleer/governance_scandal_claims_garry_lf7gTuzqxq9g5NDZXeUMSM.

Is Indiana really going to accept a bidder that has such significant problems at the top? $700 million dollar losses at just one asset, secret reports, shareholder revolts, abrupt resignations by top officials, yet they want to buy the Indiana toll road? Looks like it will be up for sale again after a second bankruptcy in a couple of years. Maybe by then the counties can get their own act together (speaking of ineptitude).

The only people making money are the lawyers and the Wall Street finance guys taking a cut each time it is resold.

Gary R. Welsh said...

I don't think Indiana has any say in the matter. The bids are being handled by the bankruptcy trustee.

Anonymous said...

Under the lease the State of Indiana must approve any assignment of the lease by the creditors. The lease is available on-line.