John Laing Infrastucture Fund has completed the acquisition of 40% of the Barcelona Line 9 Section II metro project from Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, a whole owned subsidiary of ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A.

The consideration of the acquisition was GBP85 million (US$123 million) and was funded through JLIF's existing cash resources and revolving credit facility.

The Line 9 portion of the metro runs directly through the middle of Barcelona and connects the airport and the port district.The concession’s revenues are based on availability payments with up to 27 years of the concession remaining. The concession has been financed with long term debt.

Iridium will keep playing an active role in the management and operations of the assets by maintaining a stake along a significant presence in the governing bodies of the assets and supporting those assets in the same way that Iridium has done thus far. 

Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors advised Iridium in the sale while Ashurst acted as the sell-side legal advisor.

Andrew Charlesworth from John Laing Capital Management (JLCM), Investment Adviser to JLIF, said:

"This acquisition is an example of the great opportunities for JLIF that exist across the developed European market and which will allow us to create further value for investors. This project is low risk, in line with our investment criteria, and has more than 27 years remaining, and therefore provides JLIF with a significant long term source of income."