Brookfield buys into Indian infrastructure with road and power deal

Buys six road and three power projects from Gammon Infrastructure

Canada's Brookfield Asset Management on Friday made its first significant investment in Indian infrastructure, buying six road and three power projects from Gammon Infrastructure Projects Limited.

A consortium composed of Brookfield and the Core Infrastructure India Fund Pte Ltd are buying the projects, six of which are operational, said Ambit Holdings, which advised Gammon on the deal.

Indian infrastructure firms have spent the last two years trying to sell assets to pay down debts after an economic downturn squeezed cash flows and damaged their balance sheets, although interest from foreign investors has remained muted.

"This transaction represents Brookfield's first major investment in Indian infrastructure, and provides us a great platform to participate in the Indian growth story over the long term," Anuj Ranjan, Managing Partner at Brookfield, said in a statement.

Brookfield is a global asset manager with more than $200 billion in assets under management.

The sale will allow Gammon, a medium sized Indian infrastructure firm, to cut its consolidated debt to Rs 2,229 crore ($337 million) from Rs 3,947 crore.

($1 = 66.1300 rupees)