Dutch infra investor DIF Capital to farewell Australia; MacCap hired
European infrastructure investor DIF Capital Partners is gearing up to sell its entire Australian portfolio, Street Talk can reveal.
Sources said DIF has mandated Macquarie Capital’s bankers to sell its local investments including stakes in the $11.1 billion North East Link PPP, which is funding the proposed North East Link road project in Melbourne, and a South Australian schools PPP financing two new schools outside of Adelaide.
It’s also a part owner of Australia’s third-largest intermodal assets, Rail First Asset Management, which it bought in a 50/50 joint venture with Amber Infrastructure for $400 million to $500 million just last year.
The North East Link project in Victoria is one of DIF’s investments. Eddie Jim
It’s early days, with expectations Macquarie would spend the coming weeks on preparing the portfolio for sale. The auction’s first-stage is expected to launch before Christmas.
The sale would mark the end of Amsterdam-headquartered DIF’s eight-year-long ground presence in Australia. It opened a Sydney office in early 2015 and set about building a not insignificant local portfolio. Given its mothership’s primary expertise in public-private partnerships, it was frequently spotted in similar deals Down Under.
The decision to sell its Australian assets comes after DIF Capital Partners, which manages €16 billion ($26 billion), agreed to sell a majority stake to global private equity giant CVC on September 5.
DIF, founded in 2005, now employs a team of 225 globally and has invested in both core and core-plus infrastructure, focusing on a mid-market deals primarily in Europe, North America and Australia. Its partners (and brand) are expected to continue after the deal closes, but in Australia, the ownership
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