Durham Courthouse, Canada

Babcock&Brown Public Ptnrships Ltd 02 March 2007 Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships acquires Durham Courthouse contract in Toronto, Canada Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited (LSE: BBPP) ('BBPP' or the 'Company'), the internationally focused public infrastructure fund, today announced the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Access Durham Justice, the company developing the Durham Courthouse project in the City of Oshawa, Ontario. The development value of the courthouse is some CAN$262.4m (£115m). The contract is a Canadian 'P3' (Public Private Partnership) project commissioned by the Province of Ontario through the Ontario Infrastructure Project Corporation (OIPC) to design and build and then operate and maintain a 33 courtroom public courthouse for a period of 30 years. It is anticipated that the construction phase will take 34 months after which the 30 year contract will commence. The building will be returned to the OIPC at the end of this period. BBPP is committing to invest approximately CAN$15m (£6.6m) and is investing at par value in the transaction. Construction will be undertaken for Access Justice Durham by leading Canadian contractor PCL with facilities management by Johnson Controls. Giles Frost, Director of BBPP, said, 'This is another exciting acquisition for the Company. It is the Company's first acquisition of a PPP investment in North America and illustrates our ability to access attractive transactions around the world. Most developed countries now have PPP programmes and we believe we have unrivalled access to the opportunities these programmes bring. It is particularly noteworthy that again the Company has secured the opportunity to invest in this project at par value at financial close. The Company continues to pursue a policy of seeking investments in projects both at their commencement and through the acquisition of more mature project investments from others.' 'The investment was sourced by the Company's investment adviser, Babcock & Brown Investment Management Limited (BBIML), a subsidiary of the Babcock & Brown group, whose worldwide network of 26 offices staffed by more than 1000 staff (including more that 300 dedicated infrastructure specialists), offers substantial resource in the origination and execution of investment opportunities for the Company. ' 'We remain focused on delivering shareholder value by pursuing international public infrastructure opportunities that offer stable long-term cashflows and attractive returns relative to their risk profile.' For further information, please contact: Babcock & Brown Anthony Kennaway +44 (0)20 7203 7300 Notes to Editors About Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited: Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited (LSE: BBPP) is a limited liability, Guernsey incorporated, closed-ended investment company. The Company offers shareholders an exposure to investment in infrastructure assets, particularly those with a public or social character such as those developed under public bodies under private finance initiative or public private partnership procurements. The Company floated on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 9th November 2006 and on 23 February 2007 had a market capitalisation of £309 million. The portfolio comprises 24 projects - 13 developed under the UK PFI Private Finance Initiative; 6 under the UK NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust procurement, 4 Australian PPP projects and this new Canadian PPP contract. There is diversification across several PPP/PFI sectors, including roads and tunnels, railways, schools, courthouses, police and custodial facilities, government offices and health facilities. Babcock & Brown has been responsible for the development and management of the majority of these assets and through Babcock & Brown Investment Management Limited (BBIML) will continue to manage them for the benefit of BBPP. In the future BBPP intends to capitalise on the development and internationalisation of private finance initiative (PFI) and public private partnerships (PPP) procurement models for public infrastructure in other developed countries, which it is anticipated will provide numerous investment opportunities for BBPP. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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