Darby Preps Colombia Transport Fund

Darby Overseas Investments and Colombia’s Colpatria are preparing to raise a $300m fund with Colombian investors to support transportation infrastructure projects in the Andean country. “We’re looking to bring in our expertise and some of our own captial to work together with a partner in the country,” Darby Overseas CEO Richard Frank tells LatinFinance. The plan, he says, is to raise capital initially from domestic financial institutions and offer target projects local currency financing. This follows the model Darby has used in countries such as Brazil and South Korea. The fund will look at medium-sized projects of roughly $300m-$400m in size, in which it would take tickets of $30m-$40m. The fund aims to raise capital mainly with pension funds and insurance companies, and deploying equity, debt and mezanine funding. Jorge Castellanos, the Colpatria executive who will manage the fund, explains that private investment is critical for supporting infrastructure in Colombia, especially in today’s economic environment. The fund will consider both brown and greenfield projects, including roads airports and seaports. It has already received interest from projects totaling about $7bn, Frank says. Frank expects a first closing by mid-year.