CHICAGO - Australian fund manager IFM Investors will pay $5.72 billion to acquire the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road from its bankrupt concessionaire.
The company announced the acquisition Wednesday morning. The deal is being made as part of ITR Concession Company LLC's Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a special committee ran a competitive bidding process for the sale of the company and the lease.
The deal still needs various approvals, including from the Indiana Finance Authority.
IFM Investors is part of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, a fund manager with $43 billion under management. It's owned by 30 Australian non-profit pension funds. IFM's investors include a number of US pension funds, including three of the six largest public sector pension funds, according to the company.
ITRCC leased the 157-mile toll road from the state of Indiana in 2006 for $3.8 billion. It was the largest U.S. public-private partnership at the time.
The company, a subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, Macquarie Atlas Roads and Cintra, struggled with overly optimistic traffic projections coupled with a debt-heavy capital structure and a $2.15 billion liability tied to swaps. It declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.
Two counties in northwest Indiana that hoped to tap tax-exempt bonds to finance their bid were among the losing bidders.
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