NewsBite

Infrastructure

Yesterday

A Qantas Airbus A380 at Sydney Airport. A shortage of planes means airfares are unlikely to fall dramatically over the next year.

Surging international flights leave airports bullish for year ahead

A return of American and Chinese carriers has pushed overseas routes to their highest levels since the pandemic. It may not mean dramatically cheaper fares.

  • Jenny Wiggins

This Month

Southern is under pressure to carry out more infrastructure works, but its owner, Macquarie, will be able to increase how much it charges customers considerably.

Macquarie’s embattled UK water asset gets go-ahead to jack up bills

Southern Water’s debt was downgraded to junk status this year, and regulators have prevented the company from paying its Australian owner any dividends.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
JET Charge founders Ellen Liang and Tim Washington.

Natixis’s Mirova backs millions into EV charging biz JET Charge

Natixis Investment Managers-affiliate Mirova led the $72 million funding round via its energy transition strategy.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Investors on alert as Bingo debt trades around 80¢

There’s no action yet, but special situation funds the world over – which specialise in trading discounted debt – are certainly having a look.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

EY seeks buyer for $60m-a-year revenue data centre infrastructure biz

Street Talk understands EY’s deal team has been appointed to sell the18-year-old business which makes around $60 million revenue.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Advertisement
Downer and Ventia Services help maintain and operate Defence bases around the country

Downer EDI, Ventia Services execs named in price-fixing allegations

The contractors’ shares tumbled as investors worried whether the allegations would hurt their ability to win tens of billions of dollars of future Defence contracts.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Carlyle country head Geoff Hutchinson.has finished up the year with a bang.

Bigwig lenders line up to bankroll Carlyle’s big waste services buy

Confidential documents seen by Street Talk show the Nasdaq-listed asset manager has secured a covenant-lite unitranche loan.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
The third stage of the Gold Coast light rail line is causing John Holland problems

John Holland overhauls executive team as projects struggle

John Holland is searching for a new CEO and its major projects boss will leave in January.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Cement Australia has bought BGC’s cement division after trumping competitors including Seven Group

Stokes’ Seven misses out on BGC cement deal

Kerry Stokes’ Seven Group was the underbidder in the auction for the cement business owned by the late Len Buckeridge.

  • Mark Wembridge
Plenary Group CEO David Lamming.

Plenary CEO avoids conviction after guilty plea

Two charges related to resisting and assaulting police were withdrawn after David Lamming’s guilty plea was accepted by the local court.

  • Max Mason and Zoe Samios
BlastOne’s blasting equipment is use on bridges, pipelines and wind towers.

Allier, William Blair to shop $31m-a-year blasting biz BlastOne

Corporate advisers are early in the process but have begun reaching out to family offices and local and international private equity-types.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Cocoon SDA Care operates in every state, with 200 properties across Australia.

Improved wellbeing is a key impetus for ‘exceptional’ care and more disability housing

In the midst of an acute housing shortage, some of Australia’s most vulnerable people are feeling the impact, prompting private companies to step up to the challenge of providing specialist disability accommodation (SDA) with financial support from the government.

Sponsored 

by Cocoon SDA Care

Designing roads for efficient movement and safety is becoming increasingly challenging as vehicles evolve and extreme weather events test engineering knowhow.

Making roads worthy gets tougher amid changing needs, extreme weather

Dan Talevski’s primary focus in his civil design business, D-TAL Engineering, is to provide solutions that align with the environments our roads inhabit and the needs of the people who use them. And, of course, that they are as safe and as forgiving as possible.

Sponsored 

by D-TAL Engineering

F9 Project Services directors (left to right): Vamsi Gollapinni, Aaron Fennell and David Salmeri.

Avoiding specialists to manage mega projects a likely ‘false economy’

During uncertain economic periods, the necessity to better manage risk is fostering a renewed collaboration with engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) specialists. This approach ensures that construction and engineering mega projects are delivered on time, within budget and according to specifications.

Sponsored 

by F9 Project Services

A Qantas flight from Brisbane lands at Cairns Airport.

Japanese suitor straps in for $3b North Queensland Airports auction

Japanese trading house Sojitz is trying to pull together a bidder consortium for the up-for-grabs Cairns and Mackay airports.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Advertisement
A chartered repatriation flight arrives at Brisbane Airport.

Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC acquires stake in Brisbane Airport

GIC has acquired about 5 per cent of Brisbane Airport at a time when it has posted record revenue and has a $5 billion spending plan over the next decade.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

November

Renewi operates industrial and commercial waste collection and processing across the Netherlands and Belgium, its website shows.

Macquarie offers $1.4b in cash in fresh bid for Renewi

The asset manager said it has reached a preliminary agreement with the London-listed waste management company on a possible cash offer.

  • Aaron Kirchfeld and Vinicy Chan
Wes Maas at the Maas Group’s  company headquarters in Dubbo. It announced on November 28 the acquisition of three businesses - Cleary Bros in NSW, Capital Asphalt in the ACT and a quarry and land holding just outside of Melbourne.

One of the few remaining building groups on the ASX hits the gas

Maas Group was founded by former Rabbitohs player Wes Maas two decades ago. With three acquisitions in one day, it is turbocharging its expansion plans.

  • Simon Evans
The super sector has powered the growth of infrastructure as an asset class.

IFM’s $110b man hunts for new growth 30 years after the ‘big bang’

IFM Investors’ infrastructure boss says Australia has led the world in building the asset class over three decades. Now he sees three areas of growth. 

  • James Thomson
IFM Investors is taking the long route at Atlas Arteria.

IFM Investors throws another $24m at Atlas Arteria shares

The trade was done at $4.85 a share, and should take the company from 29.88 per cent of the register to just over 30 per cent.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Worley narrowly dodges strike on remuneration report at AGM

The engineering group’s investors want to know why the company is paying big bonuses to executives but not raising dividends for shareholders.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Australian surfer Mick Fanning is investing in something close to home.

Mick Fanning’s next investment is a new wave resort

Fanning is an investor in a $300 million surf and golf resort with a wave pool. The three-time world champion hopes will be a place to learn and compete.

  • Zoe Samios
French toll road Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone is Atlas Arteria’s most profitable toll road asset.

IFM Investors’ stake in Atlas Arteria creeps up to 30pc

The infrastructure investor paid $4.96 per share – or a skinny 2.3 per cent premium to the on-market trading price – in a block trade handled by Jarden’s equities desk.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
The British public is riled up about pollution and overspills.

Moody’s downgrades Macquarie’s UK water company to junk

The ratings agency said Southern Water’s poor performance made it especially vulnerable to political, regulatory and financial pressures on the wider sector.

  • Hans van Leeuwen
Farewell, Macquarie … A plane takes off from Aberdeen Airport.

Macquarie makes 50pc gain in $3b British airport sell-off

The asset manager was forced to sell off three UK airports as it winds down a closed-end fund. It joins a slew of recent transactions in the frothy sector.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/companies/infrastructure