Goldman Sachs hired to assess gains in parking lease

IU has retained investment banking firm Goldman Sachs to assess potential financial gains as the Board of Trustees weighs the option of leasing University parking operations in exchange for an up-front, lump sum payment, according to a press release issued Wednesday.

No decision has been made as to whether the University will adopt the leasing option, said Mark Land, University associate vice president for public affairs and government relations.

Goldman Sachs’ analysis will allow the University to decide if potential gains justify the lease of parking operations.

If the University decides to move forward with the privatization after the analysis, the firm will assist IU in soliciting and evaluating proposals from potential concessionaires, the outside companies who would bid to be the leaseholders of IU’s parking resources.

The University is expected to work with Goldman Sachs on the matter for six to nine months.

“IU is looking forward to working closely with the firm as the University determines the best course of action for the University, our employees and our students as it relates to parking on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses,” IU Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt said in the press release. “The University has taken a comprehensive and judicious approach to this issue from the beginning, and this is the latest step to ensuring that all the facts are in hand so that the University can make an informed decision.”

McCourt led the work to vet candidates for the financial advising, Land said.
It is currently unknown how much the University will pay Goldman Sachs for its advising services, Land said, and the dollar amount will likely remain unknown until the conclusion of the project.

Choosing a financial adviser for the project was a two-step, competitive process, Land said in an email.

Requests for information were sent to “several leading financial firms with which we have worked, asking them to answer a series of detailed questions regarding their strategy, experience, et cetera, in this area,” Land said.

Once the University received the firms’ responses, it was required to answer questions specific to the proposed project, he said.

Land said Goldman Sachs was chosen partly because the firm has worked on other privatization projects and is familiar with the University.

“After a thorough examination of firms, Goldman Sachs came out on top,” he said.

— Kirsten Clark