Abertis to invest in Argentina €223 million
Argentinian government guarantees the leading Catalan road management multinational a license extension until 2030
The multinational Abertis has agreed with Argentina on an investment of $250 million (€223 million) into its Argentine subsidiary, the GCO network (Grupo Concesionario del Oeste), in exchange for a license extension, as the National Commission of the Stock Market (CNMV) has informed on Monday.
The Catalan multinational details the new investment plan, which is to be funded completely through the future income of the toll road management concession, that has been extended until the end of 2030 (and which was to finalize in 2018). Abertis has already made the first step towards an agreement with the National Direction of the Highway Administration, which belongs to the Argentine Transport Ministry, but the operation still requires further legal and governmental approvals.
As a matter of fact, the Catalan multinational led by Salvador Alemany, already reached similar investment agreements in exchange for license extension in the majority of countries where the company operates such as France, Italy, Brazil, Chile and Puerto Rico.
According to the multinational, during the first term of 2017 the group Abertis has made operations for a total amount of €3.3 billion, among which stands out the purchase of up to 100% of the shares of the French company Sanef (more than €2.2 billion), the growth of its participation in the Italian Holding A4 of up to 90% (€215 million), the purchase of two highways in India for the value of €130 million or the acquisition of the Rodovía dos Calçados in Brazil (for about €420million).
In Argentina, Abertis holds 48.6% of the shares of the Western Road Networks Group (CGO), the responsible entity for the construction, maintenance and exploitation of the Western access to the city of Buenos Aires. With a length of 56 kilometers, it is one of the most important Argentinian road corridors, with a daily transit of about 78,744 vehicles. Abertis has reported revenues of €189 million and an EBITDA of €56 million in Argentina in 2016.