RNS Number : 8628W
Babcock&Brown Public Ptnrships Ltd
17 June 2008
17 June 2008
ACQUISITION OF ANGEL TRAINS AND RELATIONSHIP WITH BABCOCK & BROWN
Angel Trains
Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships ("BBPP" or "the Company") today advised that it has
agreed to acquire approximately a 5% stake in
Angel Trains U.K. rolling stock business for up to £25 million. The investment is being made
through a company formed to acquire the Angel
Trains UK business. The other owners of this new company include AMP Capital Investors,
Deutsche Bank, funds advised by Access Capital
Advisers and Babcock & Brown European Infrastructure Fund. The Angel Trains UK rolling stock
business is being acquired from the Royal Bank
of Scotland as part of a wider acquisition including the Angel Trains International business
(in which BBPP is not investing) with a total
enterprise value of £3.6 billion. Completion of the purchase is subject to regulatory
approvals. Babcock & Brown advised the acquisition
consortium and structured the transaction.
Angel Trains is a leading provider of railway rolling stock in the UK. In the UK, Angel
Trains is one of three rolling stock companies
and provides approximately 4,100 passenger train vehicles and 280 freight locomotives to UK
passenger and freight operators. Angel Trains
customers include 18 of the 20 train operating companies with significant fleets placed with
South West Trains and Virgin West Coast in
respect of which Angel Trains benefits from government guarantees.
The UK rail market is experiencing strong growth, with passenger numbers up 50 percent and
freight traffic up 60 percent over the last
decade. Rail constitutes a core component of the UK's strategic transportation requirements
and Angel Trains will additionally provide an
opportunity to participate in future UK Government rolling stock procurement projects.
Giles Frost, on behalf of Babcock & Brown Investment Management Limited said "We expect
this transaction to deliver additional strong
and predictable infrastructure returns for BBPP. It will be immediately accretive to
shareholders. The acquisition has very high quality
cashflows and complements the Company's existing investments in the rolling stock sector
including Reliance Rail in Australia and BeNEX in
Germany."
"Rail is a key public infrastructure asset. This investment means that BBPP is well
positioned to benefit from continued investment and
growth in the UK rail market for which a current shortage of stock, high fuel prices and
environmental concerns are just some of the key
drivers."
Funding of the investment in Angel Trains will be made later in 2008 once regulatory
approvals have been obtained. This date is likely
to be after the Company's C shares have been converted to Ordinary Shares. This conversion is
now expected to occur earlier than originally
anticipated due to the Company's strong near term pipeline.
Relationship with Babcock & Brown
Additionally, the Company confirmed today that the potential bank review event announced
recently by Babcock & Brown Limited (ASX: BNB)
the ultimate parent of its investment adviser Babcock & Brown Investment Management Limited
has no relevance to the Company.
Specifically, the Company confirms that it has no loans with or shareholdings in Babcock &
Brown or any other Babcock & Brown managed
funds, that it has a dedicated management team and that it continues to benefit from a strong
pipeline of opportunities which, as noted
above, are likely to lead to the Company's funds being fully invested ahead of schedule.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Investors
Bianca Francis
Babcock & Brown
+44 20 7203 7300
Media
Anthony Kennaway
Babcock & Brown
+44 20 7203 7300
About Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships
Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited is a Guernsey incorporated company. The
Company offers shareholders an exposure to
investment in infrastructure assets, particularly those with a public or social character such
as those developed under public bodies under
private finance initiative or public private partnership procurements.
The Company floated on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 9th November 2006
and on 16 June 2008 had a market capitalisation
of £391.4 million. There is diversification geographically as well as across several PPP/PFI
sectors, including roads and tunnels, rail,
schools, courthouses, police and custodial facilities, government offices and health
facilities. Babcock & Brown has been responsible for
the development and management of the majority of these assets and through Babcock & Brown
Investment Management Limited (BBIML) will
continue to manage them for the benefit of BBPP.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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