PRESS RELEASE
Horizon and RiverRock have acquired an 89.2% stake in Euroscut Azores, a Portuguese shadow toll road in the Azores
Horizon, through Horizon Equity Partners Follow-On Fund, and RiverRock, through RiverRock Brownfield Infrastructure Fund 1 (RBIF1), are pleased to announce their acquisition of respective stakes of 65% and 35% stake in a shadow toll road located in Sao Miguel Island in the Azores, Portugal, after fulfilling all the conditions precedent set in the contract signed in June 2023.
Euroscut Azores encompasses a 93-kilometre motorway concession, representing one of the largest infrastructures ever constructed in the Azores. Built and operational since 2011, Euroscut Azores has a concession extending until 2036.
The stake was acquired from major infrastructure company, Ferrovial, through its toll road division Cintra, which was the original majority shareholder. The revenues from the concession come from a shadow-toll regime where the concessionaire invoices the Autonomous Region of Azores and is indexed with inflation.
RiverRock and Horizon have been advised by CS´Associados (Legal – Consortium), Hogan Lovells (Legal – RiverRock), KPMG (Accounting and Tax) and A3i (Traffic and Technical).
Ferrovial, is one of the leading developers and operators of transport infrastructure concessions. It currently manages 1,262 kilometres under 22 concessions in nine countries, through its toll road division Cintra.
Founded in 2017, Horizon Equity Partners is a Portuguese fund specialized in infrastructure. Horizon has undertaken to invest more than €150 million in energy transition, social services, telcos and transportation assets. Horizon holds another investment in Azores since 2021, the consortium holding the concession for Hospital do Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira in the Azores.
RiverRock Brownfield Infrastructure Fund is a fund launched in late 2018 that currently manages a portfolio of about €200 million of infrastructure projects across Western Europe. It specializes in the investment and management of holdings in almost 30 operational infrastructure projects, mainly in the social services and transportation sectors, located in five European countries. RiverRock has invested in Portugal before and owns a minority stake in the Pinhal Interior shadow toll road.
RBIF1’s investment team has successfully completed 8 transactions and is now in fundraising for its second vintage fund (RiverRock Brownfield Infrastructure Fund 2).