The Bond Buyer’s Post

Assured Guaranty secured control in high-speed rail Brightline's $2.2 billion senior bond issuance, giving the insurer control if the issuer runs into debt payment trouble "A critical aspect of insuring a majority of the bonds is that if something unexpected were to happen, Assured Guaranty would be the party deciding what actions to take on behalf of the senior bondholders," said Lorne Potash, managing director and head of infrastructure finance and project finance for the Americas at Assured. "That's why being able to exercise those control rights are important to us." Read more about this and other recent Brightline developments in our roundup. https://bit.ly/4cMHBzI #infrastructure

Construction News: Half-year results from Kier show solid revenue growth and substantial debt reduction. #constructionnews #construction #businessnews

👏 Kier increases cash and slashes debt by half 👏 Kier Group reported that it halved its average month-end net debt while more than doubling its net cash position in its latest year-end trading update. by Miles Rebeiro #construction #kiergroup #tradingupdate

The final addition to my clean transportation finance series for New York Climate Week is my concept note outlining a unique tool that green banks and federal/state agencies can implement to further catalyze investment in the clean transportation sector: loan guarantees. Inspired by California's Zero-Emissions Truck Loan Program, and supported by numerous leading companies in the clean transportation sector, loan guarantees are a tool that can overcome some of the unique credit and technology risk facing zero-emission transportation. This explainer provides an overview of how government-backed loan guarantees work and how they can accelerate mass-market adoption of fleet electrification. https://lnkd.in/edgq63Wi Are you an investor, lender or equipment finance broker looking to learn more about the clean transportation sector? Are you a zero-emissions vehicle company or dealership with unique data to share to amplify market acceleration efforts? Get in touch. [Post 3 of a 3-part series] Benjamin Mandel Mary Jo W. Bill Van Amburg Julia Grinshpun Richard Burr Tweedy Kaitlin Butler Cara Merriman Jacqueline (Bruns) Torres Jon Stafford, CMA, CAFM Vincent Riscica Patrick Toppin Nadia El Mallakh #newyorkclimateweek #cleantransportation #sustainablefinance #greenfinance #zeroemissionstrucks #equipmentfinance [Views expressed on social media are my own and do not represent any organization]

Transportation is an unsung infrastructure opportunity, according to QIC Head of Private Debt, Evan Nahnsen. In his recent paper, Evan explores the opportunities and portfolio diversification benefits of investing in the transport sector, and why emerging EV infrastructure is proving an attractive driving force for debt investments.    Don't sleep at the wheel, read the full article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eKDpuKhn #privatedebtinfrastructure #evinfrastructure #transportation #privatedebt

The Canada Infrastructure Bank focuses on building clean power, green infrastructure, public transit and broadband access in Canada

Thames Water's financial challenges highlight key lessons for infrastructure investment: While I still believe public infrastructure is more efficiently run in private hands, there are important takeaways from this situation: Sustainable Capital Structures: Over-reliance on debt, including excessive use of inflation-linked debt, is risky. A more balanced approach between equity and debt is essential in infrastructure. Regulatory & Public Scrutiny: Utilities face intense regulatory oversight and public accountability. Investors must prioritise compliance and operational resilience. Proactive Credit Monitoring: Closely tracking credit quality is vital. Early intervention can prevent more serious distress. Contingency Planning: Liquidity buffers and proactive refinancing strategies are crucial to manage financial shocks.

Are you wondering why it's so hard to get a medium to large scale utility connection ... ? A good example might be looking at what's happening with Thames Water ... close to £15bn in debt ... 😬 Call us cynical, but a company privatised in 1989 and now having this much debt is frightening. There are also numerous other utility companies facing the same issues. Are they just waiting for central government to bail them out ... 🤔 The company said it is down reinvestment ... but the article below highlights something very different and ominous. What do you think is happening / going wrong with our utility network infrastructure. Ripe for opportunity ... or just rotten to the core ... ? We always believe in opportunities, so let's hope this becomes the case. https://lnkd.in/gAShYmVq

Kier Group reinstates dividend after strong profit growth Strong trading at Kier in the first six months of the year saw the contractor reinstate dividend payments for the first time in five years and slash its average monthly net debt by over £100m. Kier chief Andrew Davies says outlook remains good after 6% in order book to £10.7bn Both construction and infrastructure divisions grew strongly in the six months to the end of December, with infrastructure driving the group’s profit improvement. Andrew Davies, chief executive, said: “The past two and a half years have seen the group achieve significant operational and financial progress and I am delighted that today marks a return to paying dividends. “The first half has seen the group deliver strong volume and profit growth, increased orders and material deleveraging. ” He added that the positive outlook for Kier was underpinned by the year-end order book growing to £10.7bn, an increase of 6% against the prior year. This reflected a large number of contract wins across infrastructure services and construction. Overall Kier saw revenue jump by almost a quarter to £1.9bn with reported profit from operations up 15% to £44m. The big improvement saw the firm slash average month-end net debt to £136m from £242m in the same prior period. Davies said Kier had successfully overcome last year’s cost inflation through having 60% of its order book under target cost or cost reimbursable contracts as well as through procurement strategies and negotiations on fixed price contracts. Group-wide margin slipped to 3.4% (HY:23: 3.7%) due to the growth in volumes of the lower margin construction business. Davies said: “The second half of the financial year has started well, and we are trading in-line with expectations. “The group is well positioned to continue benefiting from UK Government infrastructure spending commitments and we are confident in sustaining the strong cash generation achieved over the last 18 months, allowing us to continue to significantly deleverage the group.” Kier declared an interim dividend of 1.67p per share. https://lnkd.in/eMyTAYPW

I get the desire to make budgets stretch further but is this really a scheme worth saving? I’d much prefer the government thought again about what they’re trying to achieve with this scheme and invested in the alternatives. We shouldn’t be expanding our road network so significantly until we have a credible decarbonisation plan for transport. #transport #netzero #infrastructure https://on.ft.com/4cuq0vv