IDFC buys India toll road from Blackstone-backed NCC

NCC and Soma each hold a 38% stake in the Bangalore Elevated Tollway (BETL), which they are exiting entirely. The remaining 24% is held by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), which will retain its stake. The enterprise value for the deal includes debt.

BETL, a joint venture between NCC, Soma and IL&FS, manages a 34-kilometer section of National Highway 7 in Bangalore, including a 10-kilometer elevated highway. The National Highways Authority of India awarded BETL a 20-year concession in 2010.

This is NCC's second road asset sale this year. Last month it exited its 51% stake in the Western UP Tollway to Cube Highways & Infrastructure, an India toll road and transportation investment platform backed by I Squared Capital and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The firm's backers include Blackstone and Beacon Private Equity, which have both invested several times since 2008 and 2012, respectively. ChrysCapital bought a 7.2% stake in the company in 2011; it exited its holding last year. NCC has been seeking to divest its stakes in highway projects to bring down its debt.

Exits in the infrastructure space have been eased by regulatory reforms last year that allow highway developers to fully exit their operational projects. Another deal in the space was Cube's purchase of Madhucon Agra-Jaipur Expressways, which manages a 57-kilometer stretch of highway in Rajasthan, from developer Madhucon in October.

IDFC made its investment from its second India infrastructure fund, which closed in 2014 at $900 million. Investors include CDC Group, the UK government's development finance arm, which committed $200 million.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Infrastructure
• Buyouts
• Infrastructure
• India
• Infrastructure
• IDFC Private Equity
• buyout