3i Infrastructure announces two new investments

3i Infrastructure has today announced two new investments – a €200m investment in TCR, Europe’s largest owner of aircraft ground support equipment and a €5m investment in a PPP backing the regeneration of Hart van Zuid in the Netherlands.

3I Infrastructure will invest approximately €200m, subject to completion adjustments, in TCR, in a consortium with Deutsche Asset Management.  Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, TCR is Europe’s largest independent asset owner of airport ground support equipment and operates at approximately 100 airports.

3i Infrastructure and Deutsche AM’s infrastructure investment business will each acquire economic interests in TCR of up to 50% with the remaining equity being retained by the existing management team. 3i Infrastructure and Deutsche AM are purchasing their interests from the current owners, Chequers Capital and Florac.

Since inception, TCR has defined the market for leased ground support equipment , providing high quality assets and a full service leasing, maintenance and fleet management offering to its clients, which are predominantly independent ground handling companies, airlines and airports. This enables ground support equipment  operators to concentrate on their core business of ground handling. The equipment that TCR provides to its clients is critical infrastructure, without which some of Europe’s busiest airports could not operate.

TCR leads the ground support equipment  leasing market in Europe.  The leasing model makes up a growing proportion of the overall market for ground support equipment  in Europe where most equipment remains owned by airlines and ground handlers.  Ground support equipment  leasing is becoming an increasingly attractive model, as it offers greater flexibility than ownership and provides ground handlers with an external source of capital for investment.  We expect TCR will continue to grow as the market for GSE leasing expands.  Today’s investment is part of a strategy to support TCR not only in its growth in Europe, but also to expand further internationally.

Completion of the transaction is conditional upon receiving clearance from the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation which is anticipated by the end of August 2016.

3i Infrastructure has exercised the accordion option in its Revolving Credit Facility, increasing liquidity by a further £200 million until December 2016.

3i Infrastructure has committed to invest approximately €5 million to acquire a significant majority stake in Coeur du Sud B.V., a Special Purpose Vehicle created for the Hart van Zuid primary Public Private Partnership (“PPP”) project in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which has today reached financial close. The other shareholders are entities of the Heijmans and Ballast Nedam groups.

The approximately €200m project involves the renewal and revitalisation of the area surrounding the Zuidplein and Ahoy centres in a PPP project with the Municipality of Rotterdam.

During the multi-year project, the Ahoy convention centre will be expanded to include an international conference centre, a music hall, a cinema and a hotel. An art building with a library and theatre will be constructed on the new Plein op Zuid square. In addition, the Zuidplein shopping centre will be renovated and expanded and the new Charlois swimming pool will be incorporated into the current city hall. Furthermore, the metro and bus transportation hubs will be renewed. Construction work will commence in the second quarter of 2016.

3IN : 3i Infrastructure announces two new investments