AIMCo sells interest in Chilean toll highway for about $1.5 billion

EDMONTON – Alberta’s Crown-owned fund manager has sold its stake in a Chilean toll highway for about $1.5 billion to its partner.

Alberta Investment Management Corp., or AIMCo, bought a 50 per cent interest in Autopista Central de Chile in late 2010 for $878 million.

The toll road consortium now is solely owned by Abertis Infraestructuras SA, which holds the concession until 2031.

The six-lane, 61-kilometre highway in Santiago has been operating since 2007, connecting the city’s downtown with its suburbs.

AIMCo, with $90 billion in assets, operates at arms length from the Alberta government, managing the investments of 27 pension, endowment and government funds.

Ben Hawkins, senior vice-president of infrastructure and timberlands at AIMCo, said working with the Autopista team for the past five years had been a good experience.

“Autopista Central has one of the best management teams in the industry, and the acquisition will allow Abertis to achieve further synergies and benefits to its portfolio,” he said in a release.

“We are happy to have been an owner of this important piece of infrastructure to Santiago, and remain committed to investing further in Chile given the right opportunities.”