Bogotá, March 2023 - Astris Finance congratulates its client InfraBridge (previously AMP Capital's global infrastructure equity) for achieving financial close regarding the concessions of Fontibón and Usme (“the Projects”).
The Projects are part of the Transmilenio transit system in Bogotá, consisting in the replacement of 401 buses used for public transportation with new electric buses and the design and construction of the support and ancillary infrastructure (warehouses, chargers, etc.) under a 15-y concession agreement. Our client, InfraBridge, acquired an 80% participation in these concessions from Italian developer Enel X; the e-buses were provided by tier-1 Chinese automotive producer BYD and are being operated by local company Transvial.
The c. USD 140 Mn dual-currency facilities were provided by BNP Paribas and IDB Invest (including a UK-SIP tranche) under the sustainable loan framework, together with c. USD 11 Mn DSRF provided by BNP Paribas as sole issuing bank.
The acquisition and financing of the Projects comes right after DigitalBridge Group acquired AMP Capital’s global infrastructure equity investment management business.
“We are particularly happy to celebrate our first successful transaction with InfraBridge for a very promising sector. It makes it even better when we participate in projects that have an instant and direct positive effect in the everyday life of Colombians.” stated Santiago Pardo, Head of Astris Finance in Colombia.
“We are delighted to have advised InfraBridge in this landmark financing in Colombia under a sustainable loan framework. This double financial close of dual-currency financing is the perfect illustration of what Astris Finance does: full commitment to structure around the challenges our clients face and creativity to work with the widest array of financing sources possible.” stated Damien Dupa, Associate Director at Astris Finance.
Astris acted as exclusive financial advisor in both stand-alone financings and assisted InfraBridge in the buy-side process. These transactions represent Astris’s first participation in the e-mobility sector and further demonstrate Astris’ premier position in the Colombian renewable energy and infrastructure advisory market, where we are currently advising on six transactions across a variety of sectors.