Canadian pension fund OMERS is buying Allianz Capital Partners’ 13.5% stake in Interise Trust, increasing its ownership in the Indian road sector infrastructure trust to 34.8%.
The infrastructure arm of OMERS is investing an undisclosed amount to increase its stake in Interise from the 21.3% currently held to just over a third of the shares in the company, making it the second-largest shareholder behind Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). The remaining shares of Interise are owned by domestic investors.
OMERS has been a shareholder in Interise Trust since 2019. Interise Trust, India’s first privately listed infrastructure investment trust, was previously known as IndInfravit Trust.
Interise has a portfolio of 17 road concessions in India, spread across eight states. Of these, 14 are toll roads and three are annuity roads, with a total length of around 7,300km.
Michael Hill, EVP and global head of OMERS Infrastructure, said: “We are excited to be able to increase our stake in Interise and continue our partnership with CPP Investments in this attractive sector.”
Hill said the transaction is the firm’s second in the transportation sector in six weeks, following the agreement to acquire Italy’s Grandi Stazioni Retail in partnership with DWS last month.
Christopher Curtain, the head of Asia-Pacific, OMERS Infrastructure, said: “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.”
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