McGill University Health Centre Glen Campus P3 Project achieves Financial Close

SNC-Lavalin and the McGill University Health Centre ("MUHC") last week announced the financial closure and official signing of a partnership agreement between the MUHC and the McGill Health Infrastructure Group ("MHIG"), composed of SNC-Lavalin and Innisfree Ltd. Under the 34-year public-private partnership ("P3"), the MHIG is to design, build, finance and maintain the MUHC's new Glen Campus. Construction is underway and should be completed in Q3 of 2014. Once completed, MHIG will maintain the campus for the next 30 years.

The MHIG raised $764 million through the sale of Senior Secured Bonds, which have been assigned a rating of A- by Standard & Poor's and A (low) by DBRS. SNC-Lavalin Inc. and Innisfree Secondary Fund LP committed to invest, directly or indirectly, an amount of $192 million in equity and subordinated debt. The MUHC is also contributing to the financing, mainly through a $300-million fundraising campaign, reflecting the community's support for the project. Credit facilities have also been obtained for the duration of the construction.

Covering an area of 220,000 m2, the MUHC's Glen Campus will centralize ambulatory services for 25 departments and offer dedicated areas for world-class teaching, research and patient care, as well as 20 operating rooms, 154 paediatric and 346 adult single-patient rooms-all with private bathrooms and space for visiting family members. The New MUHC will transform health care by creating healing spaces that are respectful of the environment.

"For SNC-Lavalin and its partners, this is the materialization of a major project that carries both hope and pride for the MUHC, for Montréal and for Quebec as a whole. We are very pleased to have been awarded this key public-private partnership project, which will give us a unique opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in carrying out major infrastructure projects, particularly in the healthcare sector," stated Riadh Ben Aïssa, Executive Vice-President, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

"This announcement marks a pivotal step in our journey to transform health care for generations to come," added the Hon. Arthur T. Porter, MUHC Director General and Chief Executive Officer. "The Glen Campus is an exceptional parcel of land whose future vocation as one of the world's foremost academic health centres is emerging through this equally exceptional partnership."