Acquisition

RNS Number : 5444U

HSBC Infrastructure Company Limited

18 October 2010

 



18 October 2010

HSBC Infrastructure Company Limited

HICL to buy additional stake in Queen Alexandra Hospital PFI project for £13.4 million

HSBC Infrastructure Company Limited ("HICL" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries the "Group"), the listed infrastructure investment company, announces today that the Group has signed a conditional contract to acquire an incremental 15.0% equity interest and 25.1% loan note interest in the Queen Alexandra Hospital PFI project. This increases its equity interest in the project to 89.9% and loan note interest to 100%.  Total consideration for these interests is £13.4 million.

Completion of the acquisition of this asset is expected to occur later this month, once a third party approval has been obtained.

The price agreed for the incremental investments in the equity and loan note interests is comparable to the valuation of the Company's existing investments in the project and will be funded from the Group's existing debt facility.  This acquisition brings to 18 the number of incremental acquisitions undertaken by the Company since launch.

Tony Roper, Director, HSBC Specialist Fund Management Limited, the Company's Investment Adviser, said: "We are pleased to announce the signing of this contract, which supports the Company's strategy of acquiring incremental investments when suitable opportunities arise.

The Investment Adviser continues to appraise a pipeline of suitable investment opportunities and incremental acquisitions, and confidently expects to secure further acquisitions for the Group."

Ends

M:Communications	[phone]
Ed Orlebar Andrew Benbow
HSBC Specialist Fund Management Limited	[phone]
Tony Roper Keith Pickard Sandra Lowe

HSBC Infrastructure Company Limited

The Company is a long term investor in infrastructure projects which are predominantly in their operating phase and yielding steady returns. Once the acquisitions announced on 7 October are completed, the Company will own a portfolio of 38 infrastructure projects of which 35 will be operational.

The Company is seeking further suitable investment opportunities in line with its strategy set out most recently in the Company's results announced on 25 May 2010, and its Investor Update RNS of 23 September 2010.

Further details of the Company can be found on its web site www.hicl.hsbc.com.

Investment Adviser

The Investment Adviser to the Company is HSBC Specialist Fund Management Limited, the infrastructure investment team of which has successfully invested in infrastructure projects since 1997 and which is part of HSBC Specialist Investments, the infrastructure and real estate investment arm of the HSBC Group.  It was announced on 4 June 2010 that heads of terms had been agreed with HSBC for the business to become an affiliate of HSBC (from its current status of a 100% owned subsidiary). HSBC Specialist Fund Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

 

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