27 March 2017  |  London

DIF closes UK PFI streetlighting transaction

DIF Infrastructure IV is pleased to announce that it has acquired from SSE PLC (“SSE”) a 100% interest in the Newcastle & North Tyneside UK PFI Streetlighting project located in the two metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle and North Tyneside (the “Project”).

This is the first of the three UK PFI Streetlighting projects (the “Projects”) that DIF has agreed to acquire from SSE and consists of over 40,000 street lighting assets in Newcastle and over 30,000 street lighting assets in North Tyneside.

The other two Projects are located in Leeds and Stoke on Trent and are expected to close in the coming weeks. The Projects are availability based and have all been operating for over 5 years. All Projects benefit from long term financing provided by RBS. Operations and lifecycle will continue being performed by an affiliate of SSE under a long term contract.

Paul Nash, DIF’s head of Infrastructure: “We are pleased to be adding the Newcastle and North Tyneside Streetlighting PFI to our portfolio of investments. Streetlighting PPP is a sector that DIF understands well and we look forward to working with our operational partner SSE, who we consider to be a high quality developer, owner and operator”.

DIF is being advised by Operis (Financial), WSP (technical) and Osborne Clarke (Legal).

DIF Profile

DIF is an independent and specialist fund management company, managing funds of approximately €3.5 billion. DIF invests in infrastructure assets that generate long term stable cash flows, including PPP / PFI / P3 and renewable energy assets in Europe, North America and Australia. DIF has offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Toronto and Sydney. For more information, please contact:

For more information, please contact:

Paul Nash, Partner
Email: p.nash@dif.eu

Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

20 March 2017  |  Paris

DIF and co-shareholders complete refinancing of French solar portfolio

DIF and its co-shareholders Caisse des Dépôts and Solairedirect complete refinancing of a 34MWp ground-mounted solar PV portfolio.

DIF, Caisse des Dépôts (“CDC”) and Solairedirect (together the “Sponsors”) have completed the refinancing of a portfolio of 4 operational ground-mounted solar PV projects located in the south-east of France, taking advantage of their strong operational track record since inception as well as the prevailing competitive debt markets. The projects, originally developed by Solairedirect were later partly sold to CDC and DIF as part of a portfolio. The portfolio is 35.25% owned by the DIF Infrastructure III fund, with CDC owning 49.75% and Solairedirect the remaining 15%. All 4 projects have been operational for more than 5 years.

Auxifip (part of the Crédit Agricole group), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acting as co-MLAs, together with BPIFrance Financement as participant, provided approximately EUR 145 million of senior debt facilities to refinance the existing debt. The refinancing provides for an extraordinary distribution to the shareholders in the portfolio, while still allowing for a strong cash yield from the projects over their remaining life.

The Sponsors were advised by Astris Finance (financial), Clifford Chance (legal – tax structure and financing) LPA-CGR (legal – corporate and project DD) and Noveo Finance (hedging).

The lenders were advised by Herbert Smith Freehills (legal), OST (technical), Deloitte (model audit) and MARSH (insurance).

For DIF in France, this follows the refinancing in 2016 of 2 portfolios of solar PV assets of 31.2MWp and 20.1MWp.

DIF Profile

DIF is an independent and specialist fund management company, managing funds of approximately EUR 3.5 billion. DIF invests in infrastructure assets that generate long term stable cash flows, including PPP/ P3, renewable energy and other core infrastructure assets in Europe, North America and Australia.
DIF has offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Toronto and Sydney.

For more information, please contact:

Christopher Mansfield, Partner
Email: c.mansfield@dif.eu

Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

solar panels in a field
10 March 2017  |  Toronto

DIF reaches financial close on US toll road

DIF Infrastructure IV (“DIF”) is pleased to announce that it has reached financial close on a 33.3% equity interest in Northwest Parkway (NWP), a toll-road located in the Denver metropolitan area of Colorado, U.S.A. (the “Project”). DIF is part of a consortium alongside Northleaf Capital Partners and HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, which acquired a 100% equity interest in the Project from Brisa, a Portuguese toll-road operator.

NWP is DIF’s first transportation infrastructure investment in North America, a sector in which DIF expects considerable growth for the years ahead. The road, which started operations in 2003, has strong traffic history and connects with several toll and non-toll highways, including E-470, I-25, US 36 and US 287, providing convenient access to residential and commercial centres in the region.

Northwest Parkway has 90 years remaining on its 99-year concession to operate and maintain a 14km section of the beltway system extending around Denver. Revenues are generated by tolls through an all-electronic tolling system. The counterparty to the concession is the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority.

“”We are excited to add Northwest Parkway to DIF’s portfolio of investments. Northwest Parkway provides DIF’s investors with an attractive North American infrastructure investment underpinned by the dynamic growth in the greater Denver metropolitan area” said Paul Huebener, Partner and Head of DIF Americas.

DIF Profile

DIF is an independent and specialist infrastructure fund management company, managing funds of approximately €3.5 billion. DIF invests in infrastructure assets that generate long term stable cash flows, including PPP / PFI / P3, renewable energy assets and other core infrastructure assets in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF has offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Toronto and Sydney.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Nash, Partner
Email: p.nash@dif.eu

Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

Northwest parkway roads