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Macquarie Infrastructure Invests $533 Mln in Virginia (Update2) Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Macquarie Infrastructure Group, the world's largest toll-road manager, agreed to buy control of Virginia's Dulles Greenway turnpike for $533 million, its third investment in the U.S.
Macquarie Infrastructure will initially buy 87 percent of the 14-mile (22-kilometer) linking northern Virginia to Washington D.C.'s Dulles Airport, which is used by more than 20 million travelers a year. The Sydney-based company is seeking to buy the remaining 13 percent from Halliburton Co.'s Kellogg Brown & Root, it said in a statement today.
``This is a classic Macquarie Infrastructure asset,'' Chief Executive Stephen Allen said on a conference call. ``One of the most exciting aspects about the road is that it serves an affluent region experiencing strong population and employment growth.''
Macquarie Infrastructure owns stakes in 13 tollways in the U.K., U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany and Portugal. Toll roads are attractive to investors seeking stable cashflow and steady earnings. The Dulles turnpike is located in the fourth-largest metro area in the U.S., serving a ``high-growth'' region where average household income is 23 percent above the national rate, the company said.
Allen today reaffirmed the company's forecast of a 21 cents- a-share dividend for the fiscal year started July 1. Macquarie Infrastructure shares closed at A$3.98 yesterday. The stock, which has risen 14 percent this year, is halted from trade today.
Macquarie Infrastructure plans to raise A$675 million ($507 million) selling shares to institutions to help fund the purchase.
Macquarie Infrastructure was founded in 1996 by Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's biggest investment bank. Macquarie Bank advised Macquarie Infrastructure on the acquisition.
The tollroad manager has teamed with France's Eiffage SA to bid for stakes in French highways valued at 7.44 billion euros ($9 billion).
In 2004, Macquarie Infrastructure joined with Spain's Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA and secured the concession to run and maintain a 7.8-mile highway in Chicago. The venture also won a 99-year concession to run the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System, a $1.8 billion project.
Cintra and Macquarie also run the 64-mile 407 ETR turnpike near Toronto, Canada, which they leased for 99 years in a C$3.1 billion deal in 1999.
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