Hanwha Group units underwrite $240 mn debt on US car park operator

Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. and two other financial arms of South Korea’s Hanwha Group have underwritten $240 million of a 30-year debt on Chicago Parking Meters LLC, participating in a refinancing package for the on-street parking lot operator.

The senior debt is expected to yield between 5.5% and 6% per annum, while the size of the whole debt refinancing was not immediately known.

Of the $240 million debt, brokerage house Hanwha Investment acquired $200 million and recently completed the resale to domestic institutions, most of which were life and non-life insurance companies, according to investment banking sources on Sept. 25.

Separately, Hanwha Asset Management Co. Ltd. and Hanwha Life Insurance Co. Ltd. underwrote $40 million of the debt.

“Compared to lending which yields only 3% per annum and road and rail infrastructure investments in South Korea which have uncertainty about dividend payments, the terms and conditions (of the senior debt) are good,” one of the sources told the Korean Investors.

The investment followed Hana Financial Investment’s purchase of a 15% stake in France’s leading car park operator Indigo Group for an undisclosed sum earlier this year.

Hana made the co-investment with a 20-year horizon.

Chicago Parking Meters operates 36,000 metered parking spaces, after the city of Chicago sold the parking meters in 2008 on a 75-year lease to buyers led by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure. Other shareholders include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Germany’s Allianz SE.

The parking system has improved management efficiency by installing electronic pay stations and introducing a mobile application to enable drivers to pay using their smartphones.

By Hyun-il Lee

hiuneal@hankyung.com

(Photo: Getty Images Bank)