Pátria plans new infrastructure concessions in Brazil
One of the largest toll road operators in the country, Pátria already prepares next steps in other industries, such as power generation, airports and basic sanitation. There is no segment of the Brazilian infrastructure in which the group does not evaluate investing, according to partner Otavio Castello Branco."We have no restrictions. We had in the past, for governance, antitrust reasons. But today, after improvements, the Operation Car Wash and the consolidation of a more pro-market vision in the country, there is no sector that we don't look at, although we are more active in some than others," the executive told Valor one day after winning the auction to operate the Piracicaba-Panorama highway corridor in São Paulo state, known as Pipa.
The group won the competition held on Wednesday with an offer of R$1.1 billion in partnership with the Singapore sovereign fund GIC, which holds 30% of the consortium. "We are very comfortable with the price we paid. We have been studying this concession for over a year and offered a conscious price. It was our best offer, the auction is designed for that," he said.
The bid also demonstrates confidence in the recovery of the economy. "Road traffic is pretty much linked to GDP. We are experiencing a favorable moment and the expectation is that traffic will keep growing," Mr. Castello Branco says.
Pátria has a robust history of investments in infrastructure, creating companies from scratch and taking control of operations. In 2006, the group founded an electric generation business that later became CPFL Renováveis. The company also originated companies such as Argo, for electricity transmission, and Hidrovias do Brasil, for logistics.
The group is now in the fundraising stage of its fourth investment fund focused only on infrastructure.
The executive did not elaborate on the effort, but Valor found that the expectation is to raise between $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion. A large part of that has already been raised, two sources say. "Despite the broad interest in infrastructure in Brazil, there are few dedicated funds, which makes room for this fundraising profile," says one source in the industry.
Even without having concluded the funding, Pátria Infraestrutura IV fund is already in the pre-operational phase. Part of the proceeds has been invested in two renewable generation projects and now in the Pipa road auction.
With the drop in interest rates, the asset manager notes a change in investor profile in...
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