Canadian pension fund British Columbia Investment Management agreed to take infrastructure investor BBGI Global Infrastructure private at a valuation of £1.06 billion (around $1.3 billion).
BBGI’s share price fell more than 20% since the beginning of 2023. BCI’s offer of 147.5 pence per share represents a 21.1% premium to the firm’s closing price Wednesday.
BBGI, which is based in Luxembourg and listed in London, invests in operationally critical social infrastructure including transport, healthcare, civic infrastructure, education, affordable housing and clean energy. According to its 2024 interim report, 25% of its portfolio assets are in Canada, 33% in the UK and 13% in Europe. The US and Australia take up 10% and 9%, respectively.
The pension fund is investing through its infrastructure and renewable resources program, which invests in tangible long-life assets aiming for long-term stable returns with a low to moderate risk profile.
BCI said Wednesday that BBGI is a high-quality business with an attractive, established portfolio of core infrastructure assets and opportunities for future growth.
According to PitchBook data, global infrastructure fundraising fell 23% last year to $96.7 billion, impacted by elevated interest rates, a challenging exit environment and geopolitical uncertainty.
However, according to PitchBook’s Q3 2024 Global Real Assets Report, lower-risk infrastructure assets can also be deemed safe-haven investments as there is often room for incremental growth.
Transport and logistics infrastructure was the second most widely cited area of investment among the top 15 largest infrastructure funds closed in Q2 and Q3, driven by the deglobalization investment theme of investors expecting a reconfiguration of trade routes to create attractive opportunities.
Featured image by Joe Sohm/Getty Images
Learn more about our editorial standards.
