Balfour Beatty plc has exited in full from Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP (BBIP). In addition, Balfour Beatty has disposed of its entire interest in Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LP, which is the infrastructure fund advised by BBIP, to entities controlled by the investment management firm Wafra Investment Advisory Group, Inc. (Wafra).

BBIP was set up in November 2010 as an independently managed infrastructure management business and is run at arm’s length to Balfour Beatty’s Investments portfolio. The fund' strategy is to invest in predominantly brownfield (operational) assets in its key target sectors of energy, transportation and utility assets across the UK, Europe, and North America.

The sale of the fund interest to Wafra is for an initial cash consideration of US$64.4 million, payable on signing, and the disposal includes a proportion of the rights to participate in the carried interest generated by the current fund.

Balfour Beatty also has the right to receive further cash consideration, depending on further fundraising by BBIP after the sale, in addition to the proportion of the carried interest retained by Balfour Beatty.

The proceeds of the transaction will be retained within the Balfour Beatty Group.

Leo Quinn, Chief Executive Balfour Beatty said:

“Our exit from BBIP and sale of the Fund interest further simplifies the Group and maintains our existing balance sheet strength.

“Exiting the infrastructure fund management market will allow our core infrastructure investments business to focus entirely on its highly successful primary investments portfolio which also offers further downstream opportunities for the Balfour Beatty Group”.