Monday, October 22, 2007

Babcock buys toll road stake in Thailand

Babcock & Brown to Buy Toll Road Stake in Thailand (Update1)
By Stuart Kelly

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Babcock & Brown Ltd., Australia's second-largest investment bank, agreed to buy a stake in Don Muang Tollway Pcl, which owns a 21-kilometer toll road in Thailand.

Babcock plans to buy a stake as large as 33 percent for A$130 million ($115 million), subject to agreement of Don Muang's shareholders, the Sydney-based company said in a statement today.

The closely held Thai company operates an elevated six-lane toll road from downtown Bangkok to the northern suburbs, one of the most populated parts of the nation.

In June, Babcock bought 10 percent of Brisa Auto-Estradas de Portugal SA for 590 million euros ($846 million), its first investment in toll roads. The company is following larger domestic competitor Macquarie Bank Ltd., which manages toll-road investments in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

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