Ferrovial and Macquarie have reached an agreement with Calumet Concession Partners LLC, a consortium comprised of three Canadian pension firms for the transfer of the Chicago Skyway concession.
Ferrovial through its highway division, Cintra, Macquarie Atlas Roads and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners have sold the concession to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), OMERS and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which will each own a 33.33% interest in SCC and contribute an equity investment of approximately US$512 million each.
The total transaction is valued at US$2.836 billion. It is expected to be closed once it receives necessary approvals from the City of Chicago and other public entities. The sale process began on June 21, 2015.
Skyway Concession Company LLC (SCC) manages, operates and maintains the Chicago Skyway toll road (Skyway) under a concession agreement, which runs until 2104. The Chicago Skyway Bridge is a 12.55 km toll road built in 1958 to connect the Dan Ryan Expressway to the Indiana Toll Road. 36% of the Skyway's structures are overpasses, the majority of which are located over the Calumet River. Some 50,000 vehicles use the highway daily.
The Chicago Skyway Concession was awarded to Ferrovial and its concession partners for US$1.83 billion in January 2005 for a term of 99 years. The concession was the first privatization of a highway in the United States.
Ferrovial published that the Chicago Skyway Bridge had revenues of €62 million (US$68 million) and an operating income of €54 million (US$59 million) in 2014. The concession has a total debt of approximately US$2.3 billion, most of its debt comes from two 2005 bond issues. The bonds will mature in June 2016.