ITALIAN high-speed operator Italo-NTV, wagon leasing company VTG and Australian freight operator Pacific National are among the rail businesses included in the purchase by global investment business BlackRock of investment fund manager Global Investment Partners (GIP), announced this month.
BlackRock has agreed to pay $US 3bn in cash, plus around 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock, to secure the deal, that is expected to complete this autumn. Infrastructure is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing segments of private markets in the years ahead, according to BlackRock, which says that its acquisition of GIP will create a world leading infrastructure private markets investment platform.
The sale of GIP is not expected to have any immediate effect on the rail businesses.
“Infrastructure is one of the most exciting long-term investment opportunities, as a number of structural shifts reshape the global economy,” says BlackRock chairman and CEO, Mr Laurence Fink.
“We believe the expansion of both physical and digital infrastructure will continue to accelerate,” he says. “Policymakers are only just beginning to implement once-in-a-generation financial incentives for new infrastructure technologies and projects.”
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