Project initially includes four Mexican tollroad and highway
concessions, totaling 433 km of highways across Mexico
MONTREAL and MEXICO CITY, June 19,
2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V.
(BMV and NYSE: ICA), the largest infrastructure and
construction company in Mexico,
and CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec), one of
Canada's leading institutional
fund managers, announced today the completion of the transaction to
create an operational platform that owns the concessions for four
of ICA's operational toll roads and highways.
The operational platform, ICA Operadora de Vías Terrestres ("ICA
OVT") is a newly formed joint venture company. ICA transferred its
ownership interest in the concessionaires for the four projects to
ICA OVT. Under the terms of the transaction, ICA owns 51% of the
platform and CDPQ 49%. For its equity interest, CDPQ is paying ICA
Ps.3,014 million which will in turn be principally used to prepay
ICA's short term corporate debt.
ICA and CDPQ will operate the joint venture with a focus on
participating in the operation and acquisition of highway and
toll-road infrastructure assets in Mexico. ICA will continue to be responsible
for the operation of the highways and for all maintenance
requirements. The four highways and tollroads included in the
initial transaction are, Mayab tollroad, Rioverde – Ciudad Valles highway, La Piedad Bypass and
the Acapulco Tunnel.
Alonso Quintana, ICA's CEO,
noted, "ICA is pleased to form this partnership with CDPQ, a
world-class fund manager. This transaction enables ICA to
monetize a significant portion of our investment in these mature
assets, and redeploy the capital to reduce corporate debt and fund
our investments in the next wave of infrastructure development that
is occurring in Mexico. This
transaction represents the first step in the creation of a platform
that, by incorporating other similar assets as they mature, will
allow us to continue to grow in a balanced manner, while at the
same time systematically reducing our leverage and creating value
for ICA shareholders."
"This partnership with Mexico's
largest construction and infrastructure firm presents an
opportunity to increase our exposure to a promising market at a
time when major structural reforms are underway to step up
infrastructure programs and stimulate the country's economic
growth," said Macky Tall, Senior
Vice-President, Private Equity and Infrastructure at CDPQ.
"By partnering with ICA, a true industry leader, we are doing
more than simply investing in four Mexican highway projects. We are
creating a long-term operational platform to foster our
participation in major projects that have a direct impact on the
economy, while generating attractive returns for our clients,"
added Mr. Tall.
This press release contains projections or other
forward-looking statements related to ICA that reflect ICA's
current expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties and may differ materially from actual results or
events due to important factors such as changes in general
economic, business or political or other conditions in Mexico, Latin
America or elsewhere, changes in capital markets in general
that may affect policies or attitudes towards lending to
Mexico or Mexican companies,
changes in tax and other laws affecting ICA's businesses, increased
costs, unanticipated increases in financing and other costs or the
inability to obtain additional debt or equity financing on
attractive terms and other factors set forth in ICA's most recent
filing on Form 20-F and in any filing or submission ICA has made
with the SEC subsequent to its most recent filing on Form 20-F. All
forward-looking statements are based on information available to
ICA on the date hereof, and ICA assumes no obligation to update
such statements.
ABOUT ICA
Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. is Mexico's largest infrastructure company. ICA
carries out large-scale civil and industrial construction projects
and operates a portfolio of long-term assets, including airports,
toll roads, water systems, and real estate. Founded in 1947, lCA is
listed on the Mexican and New York Stock exchanges. For more
information, visit ir.ica.mx.
ABOUT CDPQ (CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC)
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a long-term
institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and
parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2014, it held C$226 billion in net assets. As one of
Canada's leading institutional
fund managers, CDPQ invests in major financial markets, private
equity, infrastructure and real estate, globally. , Its
infrastructure portfolio totals more than C$10 billion in assets. For more information:
www.cdpq.com.
SOURCE Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec