Pennsylvania says 48 firms mull leasing turnpike
Submitted by MichaelVail on Wed, 12/27/2006 - 2:22am.
Reuters
Posted: Dec 26, 2006
NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Forty-eight companies expressed interest in leasing the 531 mile (854 km) Pennsylvania Turnpike, one the nation's busiest roads, the state's department of transportation said on Tuesday.
The list of companies that submitted their expressions of interest by the Dec. 22 deadline included investment banks such as Banc of America Securities Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. (BSC.N: Quote, Profile , Research), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS.N: Quote, Profile , Research), J.P. Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile , Research), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile , Research), UBS Investment Bank (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) and others.
Spain's Cintra and Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group, successful bidders for Chicago's Skyway toll bridge and the Indiana toll road, were also among the companies that are interested in leasing the turnpike. Private equity firm The Carlyle Group was also on the list.
Pennsylvania, like many states, is struggling to find billions of dollars needed to modernize highways, roads and bridges, and leasing the turnpike is one of the options to fill the gap being considered by Gov. Ed Rendell.
Rich Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said the state will now review the expressions of interest.
"The next step is likely to be that some number of these entities will be asked to make a presentation, but I have no timetable as to when that is going to happen," Kirkpatrick said.
"Looking at the companies that responded it seems that there are both adviser type of companies and companies that have taken an active role in some of the previous lease arrangements," Kirkpatrick said.
Pennsylvania had asked bidders to analyze how toll revenue could be leveraged as well as the legal, policy, tax and market factors, and the benefits and drawbacks of various structures.
About 26 states have already enacted or are considering bills that would allow them to lease toll roads and other public assets to private companies in hopes of matching a windfall realized by Chicago when it signed a $1.8 billion long-term lease for the Skyway, its main commuter link with Indiana.
That deal allowed Chicago to replenish its reserves and repay debt, and set off an explosion of interest among states in these public-private ventures, which are much more common in Europe and Latin America than the United States.
Posted: Dec 26, 2006
NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Forty-eight companies expressed interest in leasing the 531 mile (854 km) Pennsylvania Turnpike, one the nation's busiest roads, the state's department of transportation said on Tuesday.
The list of companies that submitted their expressions of interest by the Dec. 22 deadline included investment banks such as Banc of America Securities Inc., Bear, Stearns & Co. (BSC.N: Quote, Profile , Research), Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS.N: Quote, Profile , Research), J.P. Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile , Research), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile , Research), UBS Investment Bank (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile , Research) and others.
Spain's Cintra and Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Group, successful bidders for Chicago's Skyway toll bridge and the Indiana toll road, were also among the companies that are interested in leasing the turnpike. Private equity firm The Carlyle Group was also on the list.
Pennsylvania, like many states, is struggling to find billions of dollars needed to modernize highways, roads and bridges, and leasing the turnpike is one of the options to fill the gap being considered by Gov. Ed Rendell.
Rich Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said the state will now review the expressions of interest.
"The next step is likely to be that some number of these entities will be asked to make a presentation, but I have no timetable as to when that is going to happen," Kirkpatrick said.
"Looking at the companies that responded it seems that there are both adviser type of companies and companies that have taken an active role in some of the previous lease arrangements," Kirkpatrick said.
Pennsylvania had asked bidders to analyze how toll revenue could be leveraged as well as the legal, policy, tax and market factors, and the benefits and drawbacks of various structures.
About 26 states have already enacted or are considering bills that would allow them to lease toll roads and other public assets to private companies in hopes of matching a windfall realized by Chicago when it signed a $1.8 billion long-term lease for the Skyway, its main commuter link with Indiana.
That deal allowed Chicago to replenish its reserves and repay debt, and set off an explosion of interest among states in these public-private ventures, which are much more common in Europe and Latin America than the United States.
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