Pinfra Mex$12 billion first FIBRA E offer

Overview:

• Pinfra (Promotora y Operadora de Infraestructura) has offered the first FIBRA E in Mexico. The offering was named "Fibra Vía." 
• The FIBRA E is a vehicle designed for investments in energy and infrastructure.
• “The principal challenge was that this had never been done before. Even though some of the rules were inspired by other types of instruments such as the FIBRA and the American Master Limited Partnership, it was still a first-of-its-kind transaction which needed to be designed for the first time, said Carlos Aiza who led the deal at Creel García-Cuéllar Aiza & Enríquez. 
• Morgan Stanley Mexico and GBM Grupo Bursátil Mexicano acted as underwriters. 
• The deal required the firms to figure out the tax structure and a new corporate governance arrangement "with considerably less investor involvement in decision-making than in the usual structures," according to Aiza. 
• "There were some questions before the first FIBRA E came to the market about how the market would value the tax benefits afforded to investors under the FIBRA E structure. I do think the success of this transaction will serve as a catalyst for other sponsors who possess assets that could potentially be FIBRA E eligible to look at this as a viable alternative for the monetisation of those assets. I believe this will help put more FIBRA Es into the market," Rodrigo Castelazo, Creel García-Cuéllar Aiza & Enríquez partner, said. 
• The firms closed the transaction in five months from start to finish.

Rani Mehta - Journalist