TORONTO, March 17, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank Financial Inc.
("National Bank Financial") and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada
("Sun Life Assurance"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Life Financial
Inc., are pleased to announce that the Ottawa Light Rail Transit
("OLRT") project, also known as the Confederation Line, has won the
award for North American PPP Deal of the Year awarded by Project
Finance Magazine on March 13th in New York City, NY.
"Public-private partnerships in Canada have emerged as an innovative and
effective way to deliver public infrastructure. We are very pleased
that Ottawa Light Rail Transit project has received this important
award and we are proud to be playing a key role as financing and
advisory specialists in this field," said Peter Hepburn, Head and
Managing Director of the Infrastructure Finance Group, National Bank
Financial.
"Sun Life was very pleased to support the consortium members on their
successful bid on the Ottawa LRT project - a project that will provide
economic, environmental and sustainability benefits for the City of
Ottawa for generations to come", said John Vincent, Senior Managing
Director and Head of Project Finance, Sun Life Financial.
The Ottawa Light Rapid Transit project was procured by the City of
Ottawa in 2013 using Infrastructure Ontario's ("IO") Alternative
Financing and Procurement ("AFP") framework and includes the conversion
of the existing 12.5 km bus rapid transit corridor into a light rail
transit system, the upgrades to ten existing passenger stations, the
construction of three new underground passenger stations, a 2.5 km
tunnel through Ottawa's downtown core, the construction of a new
maintenance and storage facility, the procurement of an initial light
rail vehicle fleet, and the widening and rehabilitation of 4 km of
Highway 417. The OLRT project is Ottawa's most significant
infrastructure investment since the building of the Rideau Canal.
The financing of the Ottawa Light Rail Transit project reached financial
close in February 2013. National Bank Financial and Sun Life Assurance
acted as co-lead underwriters. National Bank Financial also acted as
book runner, mandated lead arranger and hedge provider on the senior
bank construction financing and is acting as administrative agent for
all senior lenders in the financing on an ongoing basis. Sun Life
Assurance is the largest investor among all financing tranches and took
a lead role in the structuring of the transaction.
"The innovative underwriting approach is another example of the
customized private debt solution that Sun Life is able to provide
sponsors to help them deliver a competitive bid," said Vincent.
The Project Finance Awards, which started 15 years ago, value different
aspects of transactions, such as innovation, deal repeatability, best
practices, problem solving, risk mitigation, value for money, and speed
of delivery in the financing of infrastructure projects. Since the
liquidity crunch of 2008, the awards judge all deals in the context of
the lending climate at the time of financial close, while also
considering repeatability of deal structure in the current financing
climate. Each year, an average of 300 to 350 deals are reviewed and
vetted via a weighting system by a panel of journalists from Project
Finance Magazine and independent industry representatives.
The project is being developed by the Rideau Transit Group, which brings
together the capabilities and expertise of ACS Infrastructure Canada
Inc.; SNC-Lavalin Capital, a division of SNC-Lavalin Inc.; and EllisDon
Inc. These companies formed a joint venture to design, build, finance,
and maintain the OLRT project and ensure the availability of use by the
public for 30 years.
About National Bank of Canada
With $195 billion in assets as at January 31, 2014, National Bank of
Canada (www.nbc.ca), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading
integrated financial groups, and has been named among the 20 strongest
banks in the world by Bloomberg Markets magazine. The Bank has close to
20,000 employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. Its
securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow
the Bank's activities via social media and learn more about its
extensive community involvement at clearfacts.ca and commitment.nationalbank.ca.
About National Bank Financial
With $80 billion in assets under administration, National Bank Financial
is a fully-integrated investment dealer combining retail advisory and
brokerage services with institutional brokerage, investment banking,
corporate finance, and securities clearing for third parties. National
Bank Financial offers its services to more than 350,000 clients. Its
Financial Markets division has a major presence in Toronto, Calgary,
Vancouver and Montreal, as well as operations in the United States and
Europe.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun
Life Financial Inc. and a member of the Sun Life Financial group of
companies. Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial
services organization providing a diverse range of protection and
wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers.
Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets
worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December
31, 2013 the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets
under management of $640 billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and
Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
SOURCE National Bank of Canada