The Scottish fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management and Dutch financial services provider APG have acquired a major portfolio of new public private partnership assets.
The pair take ownership of 16 facilities across Europe in the health, education, sport and accommodation sectors from Amsterdam-based independent infrastructure fund manager DIF.
No value was disclosed on the deal yesterday.
However, DIF said its first fund which it has divested fully closed in 2006 with committed capital of 121 million euros and has been fully invested since 2009.
Aberdeen’s infrastructure team will manage the new assets on behalf of APG, which already has interests in more than 90 projects around the globe.
Gershon Cohen, head of infrastructure funds at Aberdeen, said: “We’re very pleased with the acquisition of this portfolio given the quality, geographical and sector spread of the assets and the strong relationship we enjoy with APG, one of the world’s largest institutional investors in infrastructure.
“Interest in infrastructure continues unabated, whether it’s in new projects or secondary assets.
“Investors are attracted by the opportunity to diversify their income stream with the potential of obtaining stable income over a sustained period.”
Ron Boots, head of infrastructure Europe at APG, said: “PPPs are at the core of APG’s infrastructure strategy due to their proven robustness and long-term high cash flow visibility.”
Law firm Pinsent Masons advised AAM, an FTSE 100 company, on what it said was a multi-million-pound “landmark transaction”.
Anna Brown said: “We are seeing increasing traction in this market as pension funds and other asset managers gain greater confidence in evaluating and investing in infrastructure assets as a means of securing steady, long-term returns.”