MEP Infra Developers forming infrastructure investment trust to raise funds
Toll road firm MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd (MEPIDL) is set to file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) by the end of April. The InvIT trust would raise at least Rs1,200 crore for the company, according to management. MEP's share price on BSE hit a new year high today on the news. InvITs are SEBI regulated, mutual fund like institutions that enable infrastructure investments by pooling money from individual investors and funds like pension funds, and returns a portion of the income earned from infra projects to investors. Companies planning such InvIT trusts include Larsen & Toubro (L&T;) and Sterlite Power Grid Ventures, among others. In the case of MEPIDL, such projects offering investors returns would include the company's 12 ongoing toll-collection projects across seven states, its three operate-maintain-transfer road projects and one BOT (build-operate-transfer) road project. The company also recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CIDB Holdings, a fully owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB Malaysia) for joint development of what it called "sustainable highway and expressways projects" in India.07-04-2017
