IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (IFM Investors) has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire Indiana Toll Road Concession Company LLC (ITRCC).

Indiana Toll Road, a 157-mile, limited access, divided highway in the state of Indiana. The road spans northern Indiana, from its border with Ohio to the Illinois state line near Chicago, feeding directly into two toll roads at the state lines, the Chicago Skyway in the west and the Ohio Turnpike in the east. The concession agreement requires ITRCC to operate and maintain the road and grants ITRCC the exclusive right to collect toll revenues from the toll road during the term of the concession agreement, which has a remaining life of 66 years.

IFM Investors has agreed to pay US$5.725 billion for ITRCC. The closing of the transaction is subject to obtaining necessary third-party and government authorizations and approvals, including the approval of the IFA.

Three other teams bid for ITRCC:

• Lake and LaPorte counties. The counties are being aided by Piper Jaffray & Co. (financial adviser), Goldstein & McClintock (special counsel), Krieg Devault (bond counsel), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (bond underwriter) and Globalvia (proposed operator).
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Spanish infrastructure firms Cintra and Ferrovial.
• Spanish infrastructure operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA and Borealis, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.

In November 2014 the reorganization plan of the ITR Concession Company was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge in Chicago. ITR Concession previously declared bankruptcy in October 2014 on debt of more than $6 billion.

The state of Indiana leased the Indiana Toll Road to Spain's Cintra and Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. for $3.8 billion in 2006. Macquarie Infrastructure Partners owns 25% of the project, Macquarie Atlas Roads controls 25% and Cintra, the road's operator, holds 50%.

Julio Garcia, Head of Infrastructure, North America at IFM Investors said:

"We believe this is a unique opportunity to invest in a high quality United States transportation infrastructure asset. IFM Investors views the Indiana Toll Road as an essential operating asset for its strategic geographical position, long concession duration and inflation and GDP-linked tolling regime. ITR is strategically important to the North American transportation network. We are committed to maintaining the asset to a high standard that provides maximum availability and usability for customers."