New firm manages private equity investments in infrastructure

New York — Henry Cisneros‎, a veteran private equity investor and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, joined with the principals of Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., L.L.C. (SCS), a firm led by Chairwoman and CEO Suzanne Shank, to launch American Triple I Partners, LLC, an infrastructure investment firm.

American Triple I will deploy private equity capital primarily in transportation, knowledge and information systems, and smart city projects.  The firm’s primary objective is to invest client capital in projects requiring $25 million to $50 million in equity capital and which are located in secondary and tertiary U.S. markets.  American Triple I also consider larger projects in primary U.S. markets where the firm brings unique value to the transaction.

Cisneros serves as Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of American Triple I and will continue as the Chairman of the Executive Committee at SCS.  David J. Cibrian, who has had a distinguished career as an investment professional and corporate executive, is the CEO and Co-CIO of American Triple I.

SCS is a New York-based full-service investment bank founded in 1996, which has 80 employees in 19 offices throughout the country and has managed over $2 trillion through more than 6,000 municipal bond offerings.  SCS has been the #1 ranked minority- and woman-owned municipal bond underwriter for 20 years.  Having worked with hundreds of state and local entities to help them finance their infrastructure needs, SCS’ principals bring with them a scalable national asset sourcing platform.

Cisneros said: “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.  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.”

Shank, who is an owner and a member of American Triple I’s Executive Committee, stated: “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.  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.”

Cibrian said: “There are many global infrastructure advisers only pursuing massive projects: acquiring entire energy systems or attempting to monetize toll roads.  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.”

Other owners of American Triple I are investment industry veterans and SCS principals: William C. Thompson, Jr., former Comptroller of the City of New York and Gary Hall who served as Executive Director in the Public Finance – Investment Banking Group of JPMorgan Securities and currently serves as Chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) and John Paul Cisneros, a former Investment Professional at Palladium Equity Partners.  Experienced Investor Relations, Underwriting & Structuring, Accounting & Finance, and Compliance professionals will be based in New York with additional personnel based in Texas.