Darby Private Equity, the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced on april 1st that its Colombian-based Fondo de Infraestructura de Transporte de Colombia (FINTRA), together with two co-investors, acquired 5% of Oleoducto Central S.A. (OCENSA) and 5% of the pipeline's transportation rights from Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp.

OCENSA is Colombia's longest oil pipeline and runs 836 km from the Los Llanos Basin to the port of Coveñas located in Colombia's northern coast. The pipeline's current pumping capacity is 590,000 barrels per day and expansion plans are underway to reach 725,000 barrels per day in the medium term.

The investment in OCENSA continues Darby's 20-year track record that includes over 55 investments in the region.

Maria Mercedes Prado, Darby's Managing Director responsible for FINTRA, said:

"OCENSA is one of the crown jewels of Colombia's infrastructure assets and will play a critical role in increasing the country's oil export capacities in the following years. Having led the acquisition of a stake in OCENSA is evidence of Darby's capabilities to identify, structure, and finance large infrastructure investments. We are very pleased to have led this deal, which is a milestone for FINTRA."

Darby Private Equity was founded in 1994 by Nicholas F. Brady. Richard Frank joined the firm as CEO in 1997. In 2003, Darby became a fully owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments.

Darby has played a pioneering role in investing in emerging market regions, initially Latin America, then Asia, and most recently Central and Southeastern Europe.

FINTRA is a Colombian-based infrastructure fund managed by Darby-Colpatria Capital S.A.S., a joint venture between Darby and Grupo Colpatria. OCENSA is FINTRA's second investment in Colombia since its inception. In 2013, FINTRA acquired a minority stake in Intertug, one of the region's leading tug boat companies with operations in Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Central America.