Transurban Takes Control of Sydney Tolls For $8.1 Billion
Transurban Takes Full Control of Sydney Tolls For $8.1 Billlion
(Bloomberg) -- Australian toll-road operator Transurban Group and three partners will pay A$11.1 billion ($8.1 billion) to acquire the remaining half stake they don’t already own in a network of Sydney cross-city routes.
The company’s Sydney Transport Partners consortium has prevailed in an auction run by the New South Wales state government to privatize its 49% ownership of tolled tunnel network Westconnex, the government said in a statement Monday.
Transurban will raise A$3.97 billion in a share sale to help fund the deal, it said in a separate statement. It will raise a further A$250 million in a placement to consortium partner AustralianSuper Pty.
“This sale is part of our prudent, long-term strategy to bolster the state’s finances, while also supporting the NSW economy by investing in job creating projects that will drive our Covid economic recovery,” State Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said in the statement.
The consortium, which also includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, paid A$9.26 billion for its initial 51% stake in August 2018. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has joined the group in the new deal, Transurban said.
Westconnex has an enterprise value of A$33 billion based on the deal, Transurban Chief Executive Officer Scott Charlton said. The asset is a network of more than 70 kilometers (43 miles) of tollroads, linking Sydney’s west to the central business Sydney Airport and Port Botany.
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