John Laing Group PLC (LON:JLG) shareholders are in line for a dividend boost after the FTSE 250-listed firm agreed to sell its 30% interest in the rolling stock used on the East Coast Main Line.
Specialist infrastructure investor AIP is acquiring the stake in IEP East, the project's rolling stock element, for £421mln in cash.
That compares to a valuation of £333mln in June and Laing said its dividend policy is to pay approximately 5%-10% of gross proceeds from the sale of investments on an annual basis.
The transaction will complete in two stages of roughly equal value over the next 12 months.
In a statement, Ben Loomes, John Laing’s chief executive said: "We are delighted to have successfully completed the sale to AIP of this high-quality, availability-based asset at a strong uplift to book value.
“We continue to make good progress in developing our investment pipeline. The prospects for infrastructure investment are stronger than ever.”