Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), AustralianSuper and UniSuper are to acquire 50% of US toll-road business Transurban Chesapeake.
CPP Investments said it will invest US$624m (€502m) – plus a potential earn-out payment to Transurban over the next five years of up to US$21m – to own a 15% interest in the business that owns the network of Express Lanes in the Greater Washington Area.
The two Australian institutional investors will own the rest of the 50% interest, and Australian toll-road operator Transurban Group will retain its 50% stake.
In addition to the asset acquisition, the three investors will have exclusive development rights to invest alongside Transurban on future brownfield and greenfield growth opportunities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland and Washington DC, as well as enhancements to existing concessions.
Transurban, CPP Investments and AustralianSuper have invested together in the past – in 2018 they acquired a 51% stake in a toll road in Australia.
The Express Lanes are a connected network of dynamically tolled lanes on Interstate Highways 495, 95 and 395, key arterial roads in the Greater Washington Area.
“We are pleased to expand our long-standing partnership with Transurban into a new geography,” said Scott Lawrence, managing director and head of infrastructure at CPP Investments.
“Transurban Chesapeake’s Express Lanes provide vital congestion-relief in one of the busiest regions in the US and are a good fit with our global infrastructure portfolio. With 67 years remaining in the Express Lanes concessions, this investment will provide stable, long-term cash flows for the beneficiaries of the CPP Fund.”
