Deal brings OMERS Infrastructure's transportation investments to 14 globally
The business that manages the infrastructure investments of Ontario’s defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees has made a significant further investment in an Indian roads company.
OMERS Infrastructure has agreed to acquire the 13.5% stake held by Allianz Capital Partners in Interise Trust, one of the largest investment funds in the roads sector in India. OMERS already holds a 21.3% stake and will have 34.8%.
“We are excited to be able to increase our stake in Interise and continue our partnership with CPPIB in this attractive sector. This transaction is our second in the transportation sector in six weeks, following our signing an agreement to acquire Italy’s Grandi Stazioni Retail in partnership with DWS last month.”
OMERS first invested in Interise Trust (formerly IndInfravit Trust) in 2019. Interise holds a diversified portfolio amounting to around 7,300 lane kilometres across 17 Indian road concessions in eight states. These include 14 toll roads and three annuity roads.
The acquisition of ACP’s stake will make OMERS the second largest shareholder as a significant partner with majority shareholder CPP Investments (CPPIB), the professional investment management organization for the Canada Pension Plan, which owns 60.8%. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
OMERS and CPP Investments also own 50% and 25% respectively in the Investment Manager of Interise Trust.
Transportation is one of three key sectors for OMERS Infrastructure alongside digital and energy. As well as Interise Trust, OMERS’s transportation investments include airports, ports, logistics, rail, and motorway service stations.
“The transaction aligns well with our Infrastructure investment strategy – it increases OMERS exposure to India’s economic growth, through an asset and sector that we know well, and in line with our approach to focus on large, resilient and yielding assets in our priority markets. We look forward to continuing to work with the Interise team as they manage critical road infrastructure across India,” said Christopher Curtain, Head of Asia-Pacific, OMERS Infrastructure.
