Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Isolux Corsan Announce Commitment To Invest Up to USD 400 Million in a Joint Venture in India

AMSTERDAM and NEW DELHI, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan Stanley Infrastructure (MSI), the dedicated infrastructure investing platform of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), announced today that Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), a USD 4 billion global infrastructure fund, has committed to invest up to USD 200 million in a joint venture with Isolux Corsan Concesiones in India. Grupo Isolux Corsan has also committed to match the investment in the joint venture, bringing the total commitment to USD 400 million, one of the largest foreign investments in Indian transport infrastructure to date. Isolux Corsan Concesiones is a large-scale infrastructure concessions subsidiary of Grupo Isolux Corsan, a global company with revenues of USD 4 billion, specialising in large projects across construction, engineering and concessions.

The joint venture is constructing three highway projects in India under long-term concession agreements awarded through the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) program of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The three projects, which total over 400 kilometers of road, are estimated to cost over USD 1.6 billion and have already received debt financing from leading financial institutions and substantial equity investment from Isolux Corsan. The projects are expansions of existing roads, and will link major cities, industrial hubs, as well as ports and tourist attractions. In addition to these three projects, Isolux Corsan has qualified to bid on several new NHAI projects.

"We are very pleased to have concluded an exclusive deal for this addition to our global fund," said Sadek Wahba, Global Head of MSI and Chief Investment Officer of MSIP. "This joint venture offers an excellent opportunity for Morgan Stanley Infrastructure to pursue its overall strategy of creating a stable portfolio of assets diversified by sector and geography. This platform will leverage Isolux Corsan's strong credentials in developing infrastructure assets for emerging markets and its proven ability to work with local construction companies."

Antonio Portela, CEO of Grupo Isolux Corsan, said, "We look forward to working with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, a renowned global infrastructure investor. This investment represents the recognition of our strategy in India and the confidence in our expertise in the development of large infrastructure projects in emerging markets. We believe that Isolux Corsan Concesiones and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure will together capitalize on the Indian roads opportunity and create a best-in-class road portfolio company in the years to come."

The Indian road development program being undertaken by the NHAI under a Public-Private-Partnership model is among the largest PPP programs in the world today. NHAI's National Highway Development Program was initiated in 1999 and is estimated to total USD 50 billion when completed. India has witnessed double-digit growth in vehicle registrations over the past 10 years, according to Euromonitor, and Morgan Stanley Research identifies it as the second-fastest growing auto market in the world.

"The joint venture with Isolux Corsan Concesiones adds to our successful presence in India's transportation sector, providing us with an excellent road concession platform in a market that is experiencing rapid urbanization and dramatic growth in vehicles," said Gautam Bhandari, Head of MSI Asia. "As with our other investments in emerging markets, we target unique assets and world-class partners to build exceptional infrastructure companies in the region."

About Morgan Stanley Infrastructure

Morgan Stanley Infrastructure (MSI), part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is an infrastructure investment and management platform with $4 billion under management that focuses on assets providing essential public goods and services to societies across the globe. MSI employs a disciplined process to invest in diverse assets, with an investment scope that covers 11 sectors in eight countries across four continents. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, MSI leverages a global network of relationships to source investments in infrastructure-related sectors such as transport, energy & utilities, and social infrastructure. For further information, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com/infrastructure.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 1,300 offices in 42 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit http://www.morganstanley.com.

About Isolux Corsan Concesiones

Isolux Corsan Concesiones is a large-scale subsidiary of Grupo Isolux Corsan, which currently has three highway projects under construction in India that are included in a joint venture with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. These projects include a 94 km, two-to-six laning project on National Highway 8 from Kishangarh to Beawar in the state of Rajasthan; a 133 km, two-to-four laning project on National Highway 6 from Maharashtra-Gujarat Border to Hazira in the state of Gujarat; and a 192 km, four-to-six laning project on National Highway 2 from Varanasi to Aurangabad in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. All three projects are financially closed and have concession lives of 18-30 years, with expected completion dates in 2012 and 2013. The company continues to actively pursue other attractive road concession projects and partnerships in India and other parts of South Asia.

About Grupo Isolux Corsan

Grupo Isolux Corsan is a global engineering, construction, and concessions unlisted group. Its strong presence in Spain complements its growing international stature, demonstrated by Grupo Isolux Corsan's presence in more than 30 countries. Grupo Isolux Corsan's main area of growth is in the infrastructure concession segment. The concessions business is focused on projects in four main areas: highways, energy transmission, photovoltaic energy plants and car parks throughout the world. The company operates concessions in seven countries (Brazil, India, Mexico, Spain, United States, Peru and Italy), where it is building and operating over 1,690 km of motorways, over 4,660 km of high-voltage transmission lines, 168 MW of photovoltaic plants and over 21,000 parking places. In 2010, the company's registered revenue was over EUR 3.24 billion, with a gross operating income of EUR 311 million and an accumulated business portfolio of EUR 30 billion. For more information, visit the Grupo Isolux Corsan website, http://www.isoluxcorsan.com.

SOURCE Grupo Isolux Corsan S.A. & Morgan Stanley