Federal German Ministry of Education Acquisition

RNS Number : 5104Y

International Public Partnership Ld

27 January 2014

 



27 January 2014

Acquisition of Federal German Ministry of Education and Research in Berlin

International Public Partnerships Limited ("INPP" or "the Company"), the FTSE 250 listed infrastructure investment company, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a 97% equity interest and 100% of the subordinated debt in the PPP project that will deliver the new office building of the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research in Berlin ("BMBF Project"). The Ministry provides funding for research projects and institutions and sets general educational policy, including providing student loans in Germany.

The interests will be acquired from the Company's Investment Advisor, Amber Infrastructure ("Amber"), for €11.9m (£10.0m), following an independent valuation prepared by KPMG.

Construction on the BMBF Project, which started on 1 August 2011, is being delivered through a turnkey contract with BAM Deutschland AG, which retains a residual stake in the share capital of the project. The construction program is presently running to schedule and is expected to complete at the end of July 2014.

The new office building comprises two connected buildings on a c. 13,400 sqm piece of land owned by the Federal Bureau of Real Estate Projects (BIMA), which is the German Government Agency for Real Estate, with an entire gross building area of c. 55,500 sqm.  Upon completion, the building will provide space for around 1,000 employees and Amber will continue to provide Asset Management services to the project.

Amber has been responsible for the development of the BMBF Project since August 2011, following a successful EU-wide tender process run by the BIMA comprising  planning, construction, facilities management and financing.

The investment further underlines INPP's ability, through its Investment Advisor, to access a diverse pipeline of international investment opportunities rather than through those that are 'pre-owned' or acquired through the secondary market.  INPP has significant investment experience in the domestic German infrastructure market including existing assets; BeNEX, a public passenger transportation operator with several concession across Germany, and Pforzheim Schools with Germany continuing to offer good investment opportunities.

Features of the project include:

·      Availability based - standard availability payment mechanism based German PPP project supported by the Federal Republic of Germany

·      Limited construction risk - all construction milestones to date achieved within schedule and on budget

·      Limited facilities management (FM) and lifecycle risk - all key operational risks, including lifecycle replacement and hard/soft FM, are passed through to the FM contractor

·      No refinancing or interest rate risk - project debt is matched to the life of the concession

·      Strong yield contribution - BMBF Project is currently anticipated to be fully operational in August 2014 with a first distribution expected later in the year

·      Long project life - 27 year contract following project completion

The acquisition will be funded through INPP's existing cash resources.

Protocols provided in the Investment Advisory Agreement have been followed with respect to the sale of the BMBF Project from Amber to INPP, including the establishment of separate buy side and sell side teams within Amber. KPMG was engaged to provide an independent valuation opinion and LPA Rechtsanwält Steuerberater was engaged to independently manage the contractual negotiation on behalf of INPP.

For further information:

Erica Sibree                                                                  [phone]

Amber Fund Management Limited                                              

Nick Westlake/Hugh Jonathan                                        [phone]/1263

Numis Securities          

Ed Berry/Jack Hickey                                                     [phone]/7196
FTI Consulting

About International Public Partnerships (INPP):

International Public Partnerships (INPP) is a listed infrastructure investment company which invests in global public infrastructure projects developed under the public private partnerships (PPP), private finance initiative (PFI), regulated asset and other similar procurement methods.

Listed in 2006, INPP is a long-term investor in 122 social and transport infrastructure projects, including schools, hospitals, courts, police headquarters, transport and utility and transmission projects in the U.K., Europe, Australia and Canada. INPP seeks to provide its shareholders with both a long-term yield and capital growth through investment across both construction and operational phases of 25-40 year concessions.

Amber Infrastructure Group (Amber) is the Investment Advisor to INPP and consists of approximately 70 dedicated staff who manage, advise on and originate projects for INPP.

Visit the INPP website at www.internationalpublicpartnerships.com for more information.

 

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