Private equity company buys into Coastal Road firm

A backhoe piles up boulders for a seawall for the seven-kilometer alternative coastal highway connecting Metro Manila and Cavite. The Coastal Road Corp., which is the parent firm of Cavitex Infrastructure Corp., the operator and builder of the toll highway, announced on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, that it had sold 30 percent of its stock to Thornhedge Equity Investments, an investment company representing a group of New York-based private equity investors. AFP PHOTO/JAY DIRECTO

The parent firm of the Coastal Road tollway operator on Tuesday said that it had sold 30 percent of its stock to a group of foreign investors, as it painted a healthier financial picture for the company with the retirement of its pricey debt financing scheme.

In a statement, the Coastal Road Corp. (CRC) announced the sale of 30 percent of its stock to Thornhedge Equity Investments, an investment company representing a group of New York-based private equity investors.

“Thornhedge will participate directly on CRC’s reclamation and other infrastructure projects,” the company said.

Thornhedge was advised on this transaction by TAP Advisors, a New York boutique investment bank.

CRC is the parent firm of Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (formerly UEM Mara Philippines Corp.), which is the operator and builder of the toll highway that connects Metro Manila to the province of Cavite.

Amid rumors that Manuel V. Pangilinan of the First Pacific group has been wooing the owners of the Coastal Road project for a stake in the firm, Cavitex president Luis Virata stressed that the telecommunications tycoon was “absolutely not” part of the deal, and that the buyers were a “totally independent group.”

At the same time, Cavitex Finance Corp, a Cayman Islands special purpose company, announced Tuesday that its profitability is expected to improve significantly with the completion of its tender offer to purchase bonds issued by Manila Cavite Toll Road Finance Corp.