Citi Infrastructure Investors, Abertis Infraestructuras and Criteria CaixaCorp Named Preferred Bidder on Pennsylvania Turnpike 75?Year Lease

Citi Infrastructure Investors (CII), a unit of Citi Alternative

Investments, a division of Citi, was named the preferred bidder on the

75–year lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The bid presented by the

consortium led by CII, Abertis Infraestructuras and Criteria CaixaCorp

the main shareholder of Abertis, amounts to $12.8 billion, and is one of

the largest public to private partnership initiatives undertaken in the

United States. Execution of the concession agreement is subject to

enabling legislation and the pertinent authorizations from the

Pennsylvania General Assembly. CII and Abertis will have joint

management control. "We are honored to be chosen to partner with

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on this important project," said Michael Froman, Managing Director and Partner of Citi

Infrastructure Investors. "We look forward to

working with Governor Rendell and his administration, the legislature

the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority and its employees to create value

for the Commonwealth and to serve the interests of those who live and

work in Pennsylvania." "This is a great day for Pennsylvania," said Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. "We

urgently need new funding for road and bridge repair, and a turnpike

lease will help us meet that need. Under the terms and conditions we

set, the turnpike will be upgraded with tolls not higher than what the

Turnpike Commission would charge under Act 44. Where Pennsylvanians will

see a major difference is on our other roads. Road repair all over the

state will accelerate because of the lease, and we will be able to

cancel the plan to impose tolls on Interstate 80." The $12.8 billion lease payment would be dedicated to road and bridge

repair and support 73 public transit agencies across the state. By

investing the money for the long term, the lease plan would generate

annual payouts for transportation over the 75–year life of the lease.

These payments would average 15 percent higher than the maximum

available under the I–80 tolling plan, assuming investment returns equal

to the average earnings of the Pennsylvania State Employee Retirement

System over the past 20 years. The winning bid includes some of the world´s

top investment and infrastructure companies. CII, a division of Citi

the leading global financial services company, invests in mature, core

infrastructure assets largely in North America and Europe. On May 13

2008, CII announced that it had entered into a partnership with the

Vancouver Airport Authority to jointly pursue the sourcing, funding and

maximization of potential airport opportunities through YVR Airport

Services Ltd. (YVRAS). Under the terms of the agreement, CII will also

acquire 50% of the shares of YVRAS and YVRAS will become CII´s

exclusive platform for investing in airport assets. In November 2007

CII led a consortium in the purchase of Kelda, a Yorkshire (United

Kingdom) water company. Abertis is one of the world´s largest private

toll road operators. It manages directly a total length of more than

2000 miles of toll roads in 10 countries and four continents. Abertis

already operates and manages several large infrastructure facilities in

the United States, including Orlando Sanford Airport, Concourse E of

Atlanta International Airport, and Burbank Airport, as well as the

Teodoro Moscoso Toll Bridge in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "We are looking forward to developing a strong, long–term relationship

with the Commonwealth, to providing good customer service to those who

live and work in Pennsylvania and to implementing a robust operations

maintenance and capital expenditure program," added Juan Bejar, Co–Head

and Partner of CII. About Citi Infrastructure Investors: Citi Infrastructure Investors (CII) is an investment center within Citi

Alternative Investments (CAI), a division of Citi, which invests in

mature, core infrastructure assets, largely in North America and Western

Europe. Its focus is on securing high quality assets and providing

pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors

with an opportunity to invest to create long–term value. The team is

comprised of some of the most experienced infrastructure investors and

asset managers in the world, with broad and deep backgrounds in toll

roads, airports, ports and utilities. Investments include the

acquisition of Kelda, a Yorkshire (United Kingdom) water company and a

joint venture with Vancouver Airport Services. About Citi: Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200

million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries

providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a

broad range of financial products and services, including consumer

banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities

brokerage, and wealth management. Citi´s

major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith

Barney, Banamex, and Nikko. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com. About Abertis: Abertis Infraestructuras, who have been joined by their major

shareholder Criteria CaixaCorp in this effort, engages in the management

of transport and communications infrastructures in five segments: Toll

road concessions, airports, car parks, logistics parks, and

telecommunications. The company, based in Barcelona, Spain, has

interests in 60 operating businesses in 17 countries on four continents

with a U.S. presence in five airports. The company employs 12,000

globally and currently has more than 2,000 miles of toll roads under

direct management on four continents.