Cisneros, SCS principals launch infrastructure firm focused on U.S.

Complimentary Access Pill
Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Henry Cisneros and the principals of Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. have launched American Triple I Partners LLC, a New York-based firm that manages private equity investments in infrastructure.

American Triple I will use private equity capital in transportation, knowledge and information systems and smart city projects. The company’s primary objective will be to invest client capital in projects that need between $25 million and $50 million in equity capital which are in secondary U.S. markets. American Triple I may also consider bigger projects in U.S. markets where the firm could bring value to a transaction.

Henry-Cisneros-SCSCO

“It is clear that our nation faces significant need for improved transportation, energy, information systems and urban and social infrastructure. State and local governments’ financial resources simply are not sufficient to modernize that infrastructure and to keep up with growth,” Cisneros said. “With its Infrastructure, Innovation and Investment philosophy, American Triple I is well positioned to be part of the solution. Our goal is to structure creative transactions in which private investors can see steady streams of attractive returns and communities can see public needs met by responsible firms.”

Cisneros, who is chairman and co-chief investment officer of American Triple I, will remain chairman of the executive committee at SCS. The CEO and co-CIO of the new firm is David Cibrian.

SCS, a firm led by Chairwoman and CEO Suzanne Shank, is a New York-based full-service investment bank founded in 1996. It has 80 employees in 19 offices around the U.S. and has managed over $2 trillion through more than 6,000 municipal bond offerings. The firm has been the number one ranked minority- and woman-owned municipal bond underwriter for 20 years.

Suzanne Shank

“For over 22 years, SCS has assisted state and local governments in accessing the municipal bond market, the dominant source of infrastructure financing in the United States, with cost-effective financing solutions,” said Shank. “As the infrastructure crisis becomes more urgent and municipalities juggle competing demands for public resources, American Triple I will offer innovative private capital solutions for projects where public debt solutions are not available or feasible.”

Other owners of American Triple I are investment industry veterans and SCS principals: William C. Thompson Jr., former New York City Comptroller; Gary Hall, former executive director in the public finance – investment banking group of JPMorgan Securities and currently serves as Chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board; and John Paul Cisneros, a former investment professional at Palladium Equity Partners.

William-Thompson-SCS

“There are many global infrastructure advisers only pursuing massive projects: acquiring entire energy systems or attempting to monetize toll roads,” Cibrian said. “By contrast, American Triple I will look to thousands of U.S. communities seeking private capital for mid-sized infrastructure solutions. Our firm’s ingenuity and innovation will help get these projects completed.”

American Triple I is an MBE-designated firm headquartered at 100 Wall Street. Investor relations, underwriting and structuring, accounting and finance and compliance professionals will be based in New York with additional personnel working in Texas.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Infrastructure Private equity MWBEs
MORE FROM BOND BUYER