The volume of infrastructure financing in 2008 is likely to continue at this year’s torrid pace, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
Despite the recent credit market turmoil, 2007 has been another bumper year for global infrastructure finance–fuelled by record levels of M&A activity driven largely by asset-hungry infrastructure funds. The value of total infrastructure-related deals worldwide this year has already reached $322 billion, just shy of the staggering $342 billion spent globally in 2006, S&P says in a new report Another Phenomenal Year For Infrastructure Finance.
These figures demonstrate the remarkable growth in the infrastructure sector in recent years, with activity almost doubling since 2005.
Additionally, there are some interesting trends beginning to emerge:
Financial sponsors–such as infrastructure funds, private-equity players, and pension funds–now account for more than 20% of global infrastructure deals.
Europe has established itself as a key region for this activity, accounting for more than half of all infrastructure-related M&A activity over the past two years–reaching about $150 billion in value so far this year.
More than $56 billion has been spent on Russian infrastructure acquisitions this year–a dramatic increase relative to the $3.9 billion invested in 2006....MORE
