Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure and Desjardins acquire a majority interest in Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway – EQ Mag Pro
Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure (“CC&L Infrastructure”) and Régime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins, represented by Desjardins Global Asset Management (collectively, “Desjardins”) are pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway (“the Project” or “the Parkway”), from ACS Infrastructure Canada (“ACS”), Fluor Canada Ltd. (“Fluor”), and Acciona Concesiones S.L (“Acciona”). Each of ACS, Fluor, and Acciona will retain a minority equity interest, and an O&M company formed by ACS and Fluor will provide operations and maintenance service to the Project going forward.
The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway project is a public-private partnership (P3) between Windsor-Essex Mobility Group and the Province of Ontario. The Project encompasses an approximately 11km corridor through the Windsor, Ontario area, including a six-lane highway with several adjacent service roads, interchanges, structures, pumping stations, and recreational areas. Distinct from many other P3 highway projects, the Parkway includes approximately 300 acres of green space, as well as active maintenance, monitoring, and reporting on various environmental features and amenities, including vegetation, ~20km of paved trails for pedestrians and cyclists, and a multi-use lit pathway.
“Our investment in the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway aligns with our strategy of acquiring interests in high-quality, long-lived, resilient infrastructure assets with strong, creditworthy counterparties and operating partners,” said Matt O’Brien, President of CC&L Infrastructure. “We thank our co-investment partner, Desjardins and our new operating and equity partners, ACS, Fluor, and Acciona. We look forward to working with these partners and the Province of Ontario toward the successful, long-term operation and maintenance of this important asset.”
“Desjardins is pleased to acquire an interest in the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway project through the Régime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins. The plan participants expect consistency and stability within the infrastructure portfolio, and we look forward to continuing to meet those expectations with investments in high quality, long-duration assets such as the Parkway. We are also pleased to continue expanding our long-term relationship with CC&L Infrastructure, and to be partnered with experienced investors and operators at ACS, Fluor, and Acciona.” added Frédéric Angers, Vice President and Head of Infrastructure Investments at Desjardins Global Asset Management.
Procured in 2010 by Infrastructure Ontario, the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway began operation in 2015 and has since been an essential part of a high-traffic trade artery between Canada and the United States. The Project has a 30 year availability-based concession agreement in place with Infrastructure Ontario, with approximately 23 years remaining.
About Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure
CC&L Infrastructure invests in middle-market infrastructure assets with attractive risk-return characteristics, long lives and the potential to generate stable cash flows. To date, CC&L Infrastructure has accumulated over $5 billion in assets under management diversified across a variety of geographies, sectors, and asset types, with over 90 underlying facilities across over 25 individual investments. CC&L Infrastructure is a part of Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group Ltd., a multi-boutique asset management firm whose affiliates collectively manage approximately CAD$96 billion in assets.
About Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. (DGAM)
Established in 1998, Desjardins Global Asset Management (DGAM) is one of Canada’s largest asset managers with in-house expertise in equity, fixed income and real assets (infrastructure, real estate) across a variety of investment vehicles. DGAM manages over CAN$86.5 billion (as at March 31, 2022) in institutional assets on behalf of insurance companies, pension funds, endowment funds, non-profit organizations and corporations across Canada.
Source: cclinfrastructure
