Data centres have been all the rage for the last two years, but infrastructure investors have a new prize to pursue thanks to Canada’s La Caisse, which has mandated Macquarie Capital to sell its stake in WestConnex.
The pension savings giant owns just over 10 per cent in the country’s most valuable toll road, valued at more than $30 billion in total. It is preparing to exit just weeks after the NSW government finalised its review of the state’s toll roads, which resulted in little pain for operators.
The 70-kilometre-long road network is being shopped with $1 billion revenue – with toll prices growing at the greater of inflation or 4 per cent annually – and $810 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the last financial year, people who have received documents marketing the business said on the condition of anonymity.
La Caisse declined to comment.
WestConnex, privatised by the Berejiklian government in two tranches – in 2018 and 2021– at enterprise valuation of $25 billion and $33 billion respectively, is now in the hands of Transurban, AustralianSuper, Canada’s CPP Investments, La Caisse, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.