* CPPIB to pay C$894 mln for further 10 pct stake
* Will bring CPPIB stake in Ontario Hwy 407 to 40 pct
* Spain's Ferrovial to use funds to pay down debt (Recasts with analyst comment)
By Sarah Morris and Cameron French
MADRID/TORONTO, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Canada's biggest pension manager is spending nearly $900 million to raise its stake in a lucrative Toronto-area highway, extending its growing investment in infrastructure assets in a time of uncertain equity returns.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) agreed on
Tuesday to buy a 10 percent stake in the 407 Express Toll Route
from Spain's Ferrovial
The deal will boost the fund's stake in the 407 ETR -- a
Toronto-area toll road that generated C$560 million in revenue
last year -- to 40 percent once it closes a previous deal with
Australia's Intoll group
"We believe 407 ETR is an attractive infrastructure asset and is a strategic fit with CPPIB's portfolio and long-term investment mandate," Andre Bourbonnais, the board's senior vice-president of private investments, said in a statement.
Highway 407 curls around the northern edge of the Greater Toronto Area, which has a population of about 5.5 million and is Canada's largest urban area. The road opened in 1997 and was leased to private investors in 1999 by the province of Ontario.
LONG-TERM VERSUS LOW YIELD
CPPIB has ranked as the world's top private equity investors over the past year and covets long-term assets with predictable cash flow.
"What this investment drives at is how some of these large funds and investors in general are grappling with a world of very low (bond) yields, and potentially mediocre equity returns," said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
"They're looking further and further afield into other kinds of investments."
Ferrovial put the stake in the toll highway up for sale in March as part of a strategy to sell assets to cut debt.
Before the two CPPIB deals, Ferrovial owned 53.2 percent of
407, while Intoll owned 30 percent, and Canadian engineering
firm SNC-Lavalin
After the deals close, Ferrovial, through its Cintra unit, will still rank as the main shareholder with 43.2 percent.
"Our intention is to use the funds from the operation for other projects such as paying down corporate debt," said Inigo Meiras, chief executive of the infrastructure company.
CPPIB invests funds not needed to pay current benefits to pension holders. The Canada Pension Plan fund held C$129.7 billion as of June 30.
The investment fund was a partner in the largest leveraged buyout of 2009 -- the $4 billion acquisition of U.S.-based IMS Health Inc, a prescription drug sales data provider.
For a factbox on CPPIB's acquisitions, please see: [ID:nN11222733]
($1=$1.02 Canadian) (Editing by Frank McGurty)