Syncora Holdings Ltd. (fka SYCRF)

[DennyCrane550]

Evercore has issued a teaser for the sale by Syncora Guarantee of American Roads, a portfolio of five toll assets in the US.

The monoline bond insurer Syncora Guarantee is owner of 100% of the company American Roads. Syncora has mandated Evercore as financial adviser on the sale process and a teaser came out in mid-to-late August.

One source who has seen the teaser said American Roads’ most recent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were nearing $20 million. American Roads as a private company does not publish its financial results.

That source said they’d expect the sale to formally launch within the next month or two and another said it is due "during the Fall".

American Roads owns four toll bridges in Alabama:

Emerald Mountain Expressway in Wetumpka
Montgomery Expressway in Millbrook
Tuscaloosa Bypass in Tuscaloosa
Beach Express in Orange Beach
The fifth asset is a concession up to 2040, granted by the City of Detroit, to operate the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. The one mile long US-Canada tunnel runs between Detroit in Michigan and Windsor in Ontario. It opened to traffic in 1930. The Canadian side of the tunnel is owned by the City of Windsor.

Syncora confirmed that it had hired Evercore for a sale of the company in its earnings results call in August, as the owner felt it has positioned the company to be ready for a sale and that market conditions are favourable.

American Roads was established in 2006 when Alinda Capital Partners bought the portfolio of five assets from Macquarie. In 2013 American Roads filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy citing the poor state of the US economy and particularly Detroit's. Through the bankruptcy plan, Syncora took over ownership. The monoline insurer, formerly known as XL Capital Insurance, had wrapped $496 million of 50-year bonds issued by American Roads.

Syncora later negotiated an extension of the Detroit Windsor Tunnel’s concession from 2020 to 2040, in the midst of the City of Detroit’s bankruptcy proceedings.

At the time of Syncora’s takeover the insurer sued Macquarie Securities regarding the forecasts for revenues provided in the sale to Alinda. The case against Macquarie is ongoing, Syncora stated last month.

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