Sell American

So you're thinking of selling off a highway or two. But you saw how that whole Dubai ports thing shook out. Foreign ownership = bad politics, you're thinking. You want an American firm to lease your highway, toll your drivers and shower your budget with dollars, not euros.

Well you may be in luck. Some U.S. investment banks are finally getting into the infrastructure privatization biz, according to the Wall Street Journal (paid subscription). By contrast, Chicago and Indiana, both in the headlines recently for making billions on toll-road privatization deals, sold to a consortium of Australian and Spanish companies.



The Journal reports that Goldman Sachs is creating a $3 billion fund to invest in privatization deals:

"The company stands to earn transaction fees for successful deals that they advise on, as well as management fees for investors backing the new ventures. Other investment banks, including Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley, are offering similar services.

Mark B. Florian, who is running the Goldman Sachs effort, is traveling the country promoting the idea to government officials. He estimates that he has talked with officials in 100 to 150 different offices, including about 35 state legislatures. Some are cities and states that Goldman Sachs already has relationships with; others are cold calls. He estimated that a third of the people he meets are interested. Still, he said, the deals can be politically dicey, one of many things that keeps even an interested governor or legislator from moving forward."

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