$452M is top bid to lease parking assets of Pittsburgh
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In an ironic twist, government and corporate pension plans could be part of a mix of investors involved in a lease of Pittsburgh parking garages and meters -- a deal designed to bail out the city's ailing pension fund.
A group of investors led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Connecticut-based LAZ Parking offered nearly $452 million for the lease, beating out two other teams in a two-tiered bidding process that culminated Monday.
The bidder is operating as Pittsburgh Parking Partners LLC, which described itself in a statement Tuesday as a consortium of "institutional investors" advised by J.P. Morgan and LAZ affiliate P4 Partners.
Pittsburgh Parking spokeswoman Shannon Baker declined to identify the investors, except to say in an e-mail that they're entities such as "government and corporate pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations."
The partnership between J.P. Morgan and LAZ was a late entry after another LAZ partner dropped out, leading two city officials to question whether the bid should have been allowed.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl proposed the parking lease with the aim of funneling at least $200 million of the proceeds into the pension fund. He said the infusion of cash was necessary to avert a state takeover of the fund at year's end.
He wants City Council to approve the lease by Nov. 1.
Last spring, the city pre-qualified seven firms and teams to bid on the lease.
At the time, the J.P. Morgan group and LAZ were competing for the deal. J.P. Morgan entered the pre-qualification process without any operating partner; LAZ was operating partner on a team with LambdaStar Infrastructure Partners of New York and Los Angeles-based Aurora Capital Partners.
However, by the time the city opened bids, the J.P. Morgan group and LAZ were on the same team, and the LambdaStar and Aurora names were absent.
First Published September 22, 2010 12:00 am
