Shareholding in Investment Adviser

RNS Number : 7136H

International Public Partnership Ld

18 March 2015

 



THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT FOR PUBLICATION, RELEASE, OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE SAME WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR TO U.S. PERSONS. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE IN ANY JURISDICTION.

International Public Partnership Ltd -

Shareholding in Investment Adviser

~ Opportunity to expand investment activities into the US ~

18 March 2015

The Board of Directors (the "Board") of International Public Partnerships Limited (the "Company" and/or "INPP") is pleased to be informed by Amber Fund Management Limited ("AFML" or the "Investment Adviser") that Hunt Companies, Inc, ("Hunt") a private-owned US corporation with similar activities to those of the Amber group of companies ("Amber"), has agreed to take up an investment in AFML's ultimate parent company.*  

The Company believes that this is an exciting and forward-looking transaction with an experienced and well-established partner who benefits from strong links to the public sector in the United States.  

As part of the agreement, Hunt will acquire a 50% economic interest in Amber with the remaining shares in Amber continuing to be held by existing management shareholders.  The terms of the transaction between Amber management and Hunt are intended to create long-term alignment, prohibiting any sale of shares by either Hunt or Amber management for at least four years.  The Company will continue to operate and interact with the Investment Adviser as normal, and there will be no changes to management personnel within Amber.  In addition the Investment Adviser will continue to hold its c.8 million shares (c.1%) interest in the Company.  

As part of this transaction, the Company has been granted a 'first look' over investment opportunities in the United States which meet the Company's investment criteria.  The United States is widely seen as one of the largest growth markets for infrastructure investment. This agreement is on similar terms to the Company's existing agreement with AFML and provides that Hunt will present details to AFML (and hence the Company) of opportunities (including those which it disposes of itself) which are consistent with the Company's current investment portfolio (essentially PPP-type transactions similar to those owned by the Company already).

Commenting on the announcement, Chairman of INPP, Rupert Dorey said: "We are pleased to have got to know the Hunt Group of Companies.  They are significant participants in public sector infrastructure in the US which is seen by the Company as a significant growth market for infrastructure investment in the medium term.  We are pleased to have extended our right of first look agreement with them and are optimistic that as a result we will see an enhanced flow of attractive investment opportunities from North America in future years.  The transaction is a logical development for Amber and we are confident that our relationship with the Investment Adviser will benefit from this change."

Commenting on the announcement, Chief Executive of Amber, Giles Frost said: "The US is the biggest infrastructure market in the developed world.  We have long said that we will only make progress in that market with a strong experienced local partner.  Hunt and Amber have a very similar outlook and range of experience, not only in infrastructure but also in other activities such as renewables and property.  The Amber management team is fully committed to continuing to serve INPP into the future and to increase the range and quality of infrastructure opportunities that we originate as markets develop."

* The transaction is subject to FCA approval. 

For further information:

Erica Sibree                                                    [phone]
Amber Fund Management Limited                                

Nick Westlake/Hugh Jonathan (Corporate)             [phone]/1263
Numis Securities

Ed Berry/Mitch Barltrop                                     [phone]/1039
FTI Consulting

Notes to Editors:

About International Public Partnerships

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

Listed in 2006, INPP is a long-term investor in 112 social and transport infrastructure projects, including schools, hospitals, courts, police headquarters, transport and renewable energy projects in the U.K., Europe, Australia and Canada. INPP seeks to provide its shareholders with both a long-term government-backed yield and capital growth through investment across both construction and operational phases of 20-40 year concessions.

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

About Amber Infrastructure Group  

Amber Infrastructure Group (Amber) is a leading international infrastructure specialist, providing asset management and investment advisory services in respect of over £5 billion of assets in the UK, Europe, Australia and Canada.

Amber's core business focuses on sourcing, developing, advising on, investing in and managing infrastructure assets within the utilities, PPP, transport, renewable energy and regeneration sectors.

Amber provides investment advisory services to International Public Partnerships Limited as well as private investment funds, specialising in urban regeneration.

Amber is headquartered in London with offices in Munich, Sydney, Melbourne and San Francisco and employs approximately 80 people, making it one of the largest international infrastructure specialists.

Visit the Amber website at www.amberinfrastructure.com for more information.

About the Hunt Group of Companies  

Hunt Companies, Inc. is a privately-owned company dedicated to building value through the development, investment, management and financing of real assets.  The Hunt Companies have a net asset value in excess of $1 billion and over $25 billion of assets under management.  The companies have more than 1,200 direct employees across the U.S. and elsewhere.

Hunt is active in development, construction, financing, and management of public-private partnership initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. Hunt's aim is to integrate operating expertise and investment capital to help its public sector partners find solutions for their infrastructure challenges.

Hunt has over a long period focused on key areas of public-private partnerships, multifamily housing, military housing, community development, commercial and mixed-use development, land development, real asset investment management and property/asset management.

Visit the Hunt website at www.huntcompanies.com for more information.

The Infrastructure Opportunity in the United States

The infrastructure market in the United States is very significant in size.  As with PPP markets in other developed countries the projected growth is anticipated to be delivered partly as a consequence of the need for infrastructure renewal and partly because of changes in demographics and the future shape of public services.  Moody's Investor Services stated in October 2014 "Given the sheer size of its infrastructure and growing urban population the US has the potential of becoming the largest market for public private partnerships in the world".   

Some 33 of the individual states have enacted legal authority to transact public private partnership (PPP/P3) projects and availability based payment schemes (which match the Company's preferred form of project) have increasingly become the norm.

Many US P3 projects have to date been in the transport sector but the accommodation sector is predicted to offer significant growth over future years with a number of states now active in procuring accommodation based PPP projects similar to those invested in by the Company.  In January 2015, President Obama announced plans for new federal government incentives to promote greater private sector investment in infrastructure including tax-exempt Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds.  In 2014 KPMG estimated the historic size of the US P3 market as being around $8.5 billion per annum with a future forecast of $12.5 billion per annum.  In contrast their future forecast for the UK market was only $1.7 billion per annum.

Important Information:

This Announcement has been issued by and is the sole responsibility of the Company.

No representation or warranty express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Numis or by any of its respective affiliates or agents as to or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this Announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

Neither this Announcement nor anything contained herein shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any offer or commitment whatsoever in any jurisdiction.

This Announcement and the information contained herein is not for publication, release or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any jurisdiction in which the same would be unlawful. This Announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire shares in the capital of the Company.

The Shares have not been, or will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any State or other jurisdiction of the United States, and accordingly may not be offered, sold or transferred within the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration under the Securities Act. No offering of the Shares is being made in the United States or to U.S. persons as defined in and in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"). The Company has not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act") and investors will not be entitled to the benefits of that Act.

The Company is a non-EU AIF for the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD") and has not applied for permission to market New Ordinary Shares in any jurisdiction other than the United Kingdom.  Investors will, by bidding for New Ordinary Shares, be deemed to have represented that it is lawful for them to have made such a bid and to hold New Ordinary Shares and that where required by AIFMD, they have read the information made available by the Company under Article 23 of AIFMD. The additional regulatory disclosures made by the Company under Article 23 of AIFMD can be found on the INPP website at www.internationalpublicpartnerships.com/investor-information/other-publications.

Numis, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting for International Public Partnerships Limited and is acting for no-one else in connection with the Issue and will not be responsible to anyone other than INPP for providing the protections afforded to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the proposed issue or any other matter referred to herein. To the fullest extent permitted by law recipients agree that Numis shall not have any liability (direct or indirect) for or in connection with this Announcement or any matters arising out of or in connection herewith. Numis has not authorised the contents of, or any part of, this document.

This Announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation to subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of securities in the Company in any jurisdiction. The information contained in this Announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. This Announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe or purchase, any investments nor shall it (or the fact of its distribution) form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor.

 

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