Friends life awards 500m infrastructure mandate to metlife investment management

Friends Life, the UK-based insurance and pensions provider has announced a new £500 million infrastructure mandate, which the company has awarded to MetLife Investment Management, LLC, the US-based asset management arm of MetLife has approximately US$1.3 billion in infrastructure investments in 10 airports spread across Europe, Australia and the Americas. Infrastructure financing provides MetLife with investment opportunities that match its long-term liabilities.. Read more

BBGI announces acquisition of Bilfinger's concessions

As announced, the engineering and services group Bilfinger Berger has divested its Concessions portfolio. A contract has been signed with Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure SICAV S.A. (BBGI), an infrastructure fund listed on the London Stock Exchange, for the takeover of the projects available for sale from Bilfinger. BBGI is planning a capital increase to finance the transaction. Already in the middle of this year, the two parties had agreed on BBGI's acquisition of two additional projects in Canada. The completion of this sale took place also last week. Read more

Aberdeen Asset Management acquires Lloyds' investment unit

Lloyds Banking Group has closed a deal with Aberdeen Asset Management that will see the partly government-owned bank sell Scottish Widows' investment arm for up to £660 million (€787.7 million). Read more

USS acquires UK Air traffic control management provider

Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS), one of the largest pension schemes in the United Kingdom, representing academics and related support staff in the higher education sector, today announced that it will acquire a 49.9% non-controlling stake in The Airline Group Limited. The Airline Group is a 41.9% shareholder in NATS Holdings Limited, the holding company for NATS which is a world leader in the provision of air traffic management.Completion of the transaction remains subject to clearance from the European Commission.The transaction was arranged by USS Investment Management Limited (USSIM), a wholly owned subsidiary of USS and its principal investment manager and advisor, which will manage the investment on USS's behalf. The investment will be managed by USSIM's infrastructure team which substantially reduces the overall cost to USS of investing in infrastructure. As a UK pension fund with a long-term commitment to provide high quality pensions for the higher education sector, USS finds UK infrastructure attractive for its members as it can provide inflation-linked, steady cash flows over a long time horizon, which match USS's long-term liabilities.Mike Powell, Head of Private Markets, USSIM said:"This is another significant investment for the scheme and its members in a high quality infrastructure company. The growth of our infrastructure portfolio by our in house team is a compelling model for the trustee board in meeting its long term commitments to members."NATS is the UK's leading provider of air traffic control services operating since 1962. Last year the company handled 2.1 million flights, carrying some 220 million passengers in the UK, which has some of the most complex airspace in the world. This depth of experience, combined with innovation that has driven significant performance improvements over the past decade has led to NATS providing services to 15 UK airports and in more than 30 countries around the world spanning Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America.Gavin Merchant, Senior Investment Manager, Infrastructure, USSIM said:"NATS is the global leader in air traffic control and is a strong example of where private and public ownership has worked together to build a national asset of strategic importance. NATS is well positioned to maintain its high level of safety performance and to drive operational improvement through innovation. We look forward to working with the existing shareholders and the management team in delivering these objectives."A month ago, Ferrovial reached an agreement to sell 8.65% of FGP Topco Ltd., the holding company which owns Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. (HAH), to the Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS) for £392 million. Read more

Greencoat UK Wind Fund acquires two more wind farms

Greencoat UK Wind Fund (UKW) announced that it has acquired a 49% interest in both Middlemoor and Lindhurst Wind Farms from RWE Innogy for a total headline consideration of £70.6 million. The acquisition was funded through reinvestment of UKW's cash resources and its acquisition debt facility. Read more