Canadian pension fund takes share in Eurostar
Published: Thu, 2015-03-05 15:00The Canadian fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is purchasing the British government’s stake in Eurostar International Ltd., the high service train service between Englan, Belgium and France.
The acquisition is part of Caisse de dépôt’s strategy to invest in infrastructure assets around the world.
According to The Globe and Mail, the Caisse is paying about £440-million ($850-million), for a 30-per-cent share while the London-based consortium Hermes buys up the 10-per-cent balance.
The deal demonstrates a newly adopted strategy by the Caisse to accelerate its global infrastructure investments. Previously, the Caisse has invested in Australia’s Port of Brisbane. The pension fund now aims to double its current $10-billion infrastructure portfolio by the end of 2018.