New investments in infrastructure by private asset managers are changing the way the world finances its cities, power systems, and transportation links.
The deal was inked in 2007, and at the time it garnered little attention. The New York–based private equity firm Blackstone Group Holdings had cobbled together a group of financiers to put up US$120 million for a two-thirds stake in a dam on the White Nile in Uganda.
Any way you looked at it, the move was risky. The hydroelectric project had kicked off more than a decade earlier and had languished ever since. Progress had been hindered by construction delays, cost overruns, corruption, and even pirate attacks. Nonetheless, Blackstone decided to take a chance. It hammered out a deal that would provide the firm with a cash annuity from energy fees in a country badly in need of electric power. When Blackstone signed the agreement, only 10 percent of Uganda’s population had electricity.
The investment made a difference — especially because of the expertise and oversight that Blackstone added. In 2013, the 100-foot dam was completed, and it now supplies half of the Ugandan population with electricity. Blackstone may sell the asset in a few years, in keeping with its usual short-term approach to buying businesses. Or it may hold on to it and enjoy the reliable and plentiful cash flow, which is hard to come by in the global low-interest-rate environment. Either way, Blackstone’s success with the Ugandan dam represents an investment trend that is changing the way infrastructure projects are planned and funded.
Denne historien er fra Autumn 2016-utgaven av strategy+business.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Autumn 2016-utgaven av strategy+business.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Transforming information into insight
Focus on six organizational elements to build a world-class data and insights capability.
THE URGENT NEED FOR SOPHISTICATED LEADERSHIP
The pandemic has highlighted a series of paradoxes inherent to the work of leaders. What comes next will depend on how well leaders face up to them.
The road to successful change is lined with trade-offs
Rather than trying to convince people your change initiative is the right one, invite them to talk openly about what it might take to implement it: the good, the bad, and the frustrating.
Sustaining productivity virtually
Maintaining productivity levels among remote employees is an enduring challenge. Here are five ways to help businesses and employees thrive while people work at home.
FORWARD TO normal
Entertainment and media companies are building business models that are resilient to the enduring changes in consumer behavior ushered in by COVID-19.
How leaders can promote racial justice in the workplace
Embrace four principles to turn today’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives into sustained progress.
CREATING THE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE
In a remodeled world, it is vital for companies to reinvent ways of working.
Consumer companies must take leaps, not steps
As shoppers show how quickly they can adapt to external shocks, retailers will need to radically reconfigure their business models.
Businesses can fast-track innovation to help during a crisis
“Unrealistic” timelines can actually work. Here’s how.
Agility and experience management work better together
Many companies achieve early wins with separate transformational efforts, then stall. But if combined and enhanced using “return on experience,” or ROX, measures, these two programs can unlock each other’s potential.
