A consortium of HICL, Equitix and the South Korean National Pension Service (NPS) have completed the acquisition of the High Speed One (HS1) rail concession in the UK for more than £3 billion ($3.9 billion).

As we reported, Borealis Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment manager of OMERS, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan entered into a definitive agreement to sell HS1 with the consortium in July.

The members of the consortium will acquire interests in HS1 pro rata by reference to their respective shareholdings, with HICL and the Equitix funds acquiring 35% each, and the NPS funds managed by InfraRed acquiring the balance of 30%.

HS1 operates the 109km high-speed rail line connecting London St Pancras International station with the Channel Tunnel, under a 30-year concession agreement with the U.K. Secretary of State, signed in 2010. HS1 is responsible for the operations, maintenance, and renewal of the track and associated infrastructure, as well as the four stations served by the route: St Pancras International; Stratford International; Ebbsfleet International; and Ashford International. The rail line is predominantly a high-speed passenger railway, providing track access to domestic commuter services throughout Kent and international services to destinations in Europe such as Paris and Brussels via the Channel Tunnel. In 2016, HS1 handled over 75,000 train services and its principal customers, London and South Eastern Railway and Eurostar, carried over 20 million passengers.

The consortium is committed to ensuring HS1 continues to serve all stakeholders well. Each of the consortium members has a proven track record of owning and managing UK infrastructure businesses and collectively bring significant financial and operational expertise to HS1.

Harry Seekings, Director Infrastructure at InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, said:

"InfraRed is delighted to have completed the HS1 acquisition on behalf of HICL and we welcome the co-investors into the Project.  Through co-investment, we are able to develop key relationships with strategically aligned partners in order to facilitate access to larger opportunities for HICL. This approach allows HICL to manage its portfolio exposure and maintain prudent and responsible portfolio construction for its shareholders.

"The HICL portfolio continues to be well diversified.  HICL's 10 largest investments, which represent c. 45% of the portfolio by value, are spread across HICL's target market segments, geographies and sectors, with c. 16% of portfolio value currently invested in demand-based assets with returns correlated to economic cycle."