CHICAGO (February 4, 2016) – LMG2, LLC, the concessionaire of the Chicago Downtown Public Parking System, or Millennium Garages, announced today it has reached an agreement to sell the concession assets to Millennium Garages LLC, a joint venture comprised of Northleaf Capital Partners (“Northleaf”) and AMP Capital. The sale will give Millennium Garages LLC exclusive concessionaire rights and responsibilities to operate, manage, maintain and collect parking fees and other revenues in connection with the Millennium Garage system.
“For the last six months, LMG2 has explored the possible sale of the Millennium Garage concession assets to an entity with a long-term interest in the concession. The Northleaf and AMP Capital team was selected after extensive due diligence and we are all committed to working with the City of Chicago through the upcoming approval process,” said Michael Nichols, CEO of LMG2.
Millennium Garages is the largest underground parking system in the United States. It includes 9,176 parking spaces in four underground parking garages underneath Millennium and Grant Parks. The facility is approximately 3.8 million square feet and extends from Van Buren Street to Randolph Street and in parts from Michigan Avenue to Lake Shore Drive.
During the last two years, LMG2 has overseen the completion of a major restoration of the Millennium Lakeside Garage, invested in various capital improvement projects across the parking facilities, stabilized the operating performance of the garages, and launched a marketing campaign which capitalized on growing demand for parking and other services in the area. These improvements have led to increased parking volumes and customer satisfaction.
“Millennium Garages represents an excellent investment opportunity for our investors. The asset offers exciting growth potential due to the strength of Chicago’s economic and demographic factors. There is also potential for tremendous benefits for the City of Chicago and we are excited to help realize that potential. Our team looks forward to working with LMG2 and appropriate officials in the City of Chicago to complete the transaction,” said Dylan Foo, AMP Capital head of Americas Infrastructure.
“We are very pleased to be able to make a significant long-term investment in a strategic asset for the City of Chicago,” said George Zakem, managing director and co-head of Northleaf’s infrastructure team. “Infrastructure assets such as Millennium Garages that provide long-term exposure to US GDP growth are a key focus of Northleaf’s investment strategy.”
The City of Chicago has up to 60 days to review and approve the transaction’s terms and the transaction will close shortly thereafter. Specific terms of the agreement will be shared after the financial close of the transaction.
Evercore acted as the exclusive financial advisor to LMG2, LLC with Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll LLP serving as legal advisors. Macquarie acted as financial advisor to AMP Capital and Northleaf with Allen & Overy LLP and Barnes and Thornburg LLC serving as legal advisors.