Astatine Investment Partners (formerly Alinda Capital Partners), a private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments, announced the successful exit of CVO, a transportation infrastructure investment, to PrePass Safety Alliance, a non-profit public-private partnership focused on the safety and efficiency of highways in North America.
CVO Holding Company, LLC (“CVO”), is a transportation infrastructure company that serves PrePass Safety Alliance in the delivery of weigh-station bypass and electronic toll payment services for the North American trucking industry. CVO serves PrePass Safety Alliance by using technology to enable qualified trucking subscribers the ability to legally bypass weigh-stations operated on highways by government transportation agencies. It also provides the trucking industry with electronic toll payment services, truck and driver data and safety analytics. These essential infrastructure services enhance highway safety and compliance while improving motor carrier economics. These services also provide environmental benefits through reduced emissions, lower fuel usage and reduced travel time.
Funds managed by Astatine Investment Partners acquired CVO in 2018 as a carve-out from Conduent Inc. Astatine established a stand-alone organization and invested heavily in management, systems and procedures to enhance growth and improve service to PrePass Safety Alliance. CVO focused on achieving outstanding operational performance and service.
“We are proud of the significant growth and strategic transformation accomplished during Astatine’s ownership over the past four years. This investment delivered strong cash yield and capital appreciation for our investors. The CVO investment fit our infrastructure strategy by delivering our investors the characteristics of a nationwide toll-road for freight. We valued CVO’s COVID-19 resilience, recession-resistant nature, and the opportunity to work with and ultimately sell to a public-private partnership. We are grateful for the outstanding performance of CVO’s talented management team and dedicated employees. We wish them continued success with the new owner” said Jim Metcalfe, Astatine’s CEO & Co-Managing Partner.
Simpson Thacher acted as legal adviser to Astatine.
Astatine Investment Partners
Astatine Investment Partners is a leading, independent, mid-market private equity firm focused on infrastructure investments.
Based in Greenwich CT and London, AIP manages three funds that invest in infrastructure in North America and Europe. We target investments in the digital, transportation, utility-related and essential services sectors, with the objective of generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors through a combination of capital appreciation and a strong focus on cash yield.
Astatine was founded in 2005 as Alinda Capital Partners and is one of the world’s most experienced infrastructure investment firms. Alinda Capital Partners changed its name in 2022 to Astatine Investment Partners, to reflect the shift from our origins as a large-cap, core focused manager to focus from 2014 onwards on the mid-market, core-plus space. Astatine specializes in carveouts, take privates of public companies and the formation of strategic partnerships.
PrePass Safety Alliance
PrePass Safety Alliance is a non-profit public-private partnership established to improve commercial transportation safety and efficiency. PrePass allows states to preclear qualified motor carriers to safely bypass inspection and weigh station facilities at highway speeds. The Alliance has invested over $900 million nationwide to deploy services to improve safety, reduce truck-related emissions and preserve highway infrastructure.
Wednesday April 13, 2022: Alinda Capital Partners has been investing in and managing infrastructure investments for over 17 years. Today, our mid-market, core-plus infrastructure business is known as Astatine Investment Partners (“AIP”). Our name change is a reflection of our shift from our origins as a large-cap, core focused infrastructure manager, to our current focus as a mid-cap, core-plus focused manager, under a new leadership team. Astatine is the rarest naturally-occurring chemical element on earth and is difficult to synthesise. We believe that our mid-market investment strategy is unique, ahead of the curve and difficult to replicate. We are focused on finding innovative ways to invest in digital, transportation, utility-related and essential services infrastructure, in spaces adjacent to core infrastructure.
March 3, 2022: Fund IV has signed a definitive agreement to acquire from Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc., its fiber and hybrid fiber coax network serving residential, commercial and carrier customers located in Kansas City in the U.S.
Alinda is one of the few infrastructure funds with experience in corporate carve-outs and used this expertise to recruit a management team, establish a plan for new software and systems and structure transition service agreements to stand up the new company.
This transaction is subject to FCC, Team Telecom and other regulatory approvals, which are expected to take 6-9 months.
October 1, 2021: Investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners acquired Florida-based BTR, a utility-related investment. BTR rents large waste collection trucks primarily to municipalities.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has exhibited consistent and stable volumes that follow population growth. The practice of municipalities renting collection trucks has been growing and rental trucks are increasing their market share of waste hauling.
BTR was founded in 2002 and has a fleet of approximately 600 trucks in the US and Canada, serving more than 350 customers. It is a market co-leader and has a reputation for quality equipment. Most competitors in its areas of focus are small participants in the market. BTR operates in attractive locations with limited competition.
By renting, BTR’s customers benefit by avoiding large investment in spares and unused capacity, are able to avoid lengthy manufacturing lead times for acquiring new vehicles. Rentals offer them efficiency and flexibility, including serving their seasonal surges, avoiding truck down time. Missed collections are viewed as unacceptable in MSW.
Customers value BTR’s modern fleet and its remote vehicle monitoring capability. This offering improves uptime and reduces labor and equipment inventories. BTR buys new trucks frequently. It owns environmentally compliant trucks that continue to improve on efficiency and ESG metrics in the MSW industry.
NORFOLK, VA – The CMA CGM Marco Polo, the largest container ship to ever visit the U.S. East Coast, has called at Virginia International Gateway and set a new record for the largest container ship to date to dock in Norfolk, Virginia. The 1,300 foot-ling vessel’s capacity is 16,022 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs.
“The $800 million that has been invested to expand and modernize our port enhances our ability to safely and efficiently handle vessels of this size, and bigger, and their increasing cargo loads,” said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.
“Breaking the East Coast’s big-ship record wouldn’t be possible without timely infrastructure investments that enable us to proactively serve our customers,” said Ed Aldridge, president of CMA CGM and APL North America.
Investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners, an independent fund manager focused on mid-market core-plus infrastructure investments in North America and Europe, have acquired ACL Airshop, a global leader in air cargo Unit Load Device (ULD) logistics solutions to over 200 airlines, air cargo carriers, and other transportation clients.
“Alinda is among the world’s most successful investors in infrastructure, including transportation and logistics,” said Steve Townes, president and chief executive officer of ACL Airshop. “Alinda also has a successful track record of investment in pooled and leased equipment, and is experienced in backing growth-oriented companies. They are committed to ACL Airshop’s strategy of growing with its customers and share our vision for continued expansion in the coming years.”
“ACL Airshop is a uniquely positioned business and is led by an exceptional management team,” said Alinda Chairman Chris Beale. “We look forward to supporting their growth strategies.”
Townes noted that ACL Airshop’s current management and operations team will continue to lead the organization under its new ownership. He added that the acquisition will benefit ACL Airshop’s employees, suppliers, partners, and customers through access to Alinda’s resources and their proven strategies of helping essential infrastructure businesses grow profitably in their market. According to Townes, this experience will be of value to ACL Airshop as it continues to expand its ULD fleet and network of airport locations globally, while also deploying innovative new technologies.
ACL Airshop is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.
https://www.aclairshop.com