Abertis to acquire 51.4% of two Italian motorways for €594 million

Barcelona (CNA).- On Tuesday, the Barcelona based company Abertis, which is a world leader in the highway management business, announced an agreement to acquire 51.4% of the A4 Brescia-Padua motorway in Italy. The motorway is 146 km long and constitutes an important connection between the North of Italy and Central Europe, connecting the Italian cities of Brescia and Padua and transporting about 91,000 vehicles per day. Abertis has also acquired the A31 motorway, which is a new route with the potential to be the fastest and shortest route to Eastern Europe. The transaction is to be approved by the Italian government for reason of extension of the abovementioned highway, called the ‘North Connection Project’. The total cost of the transaction is € 594 million, to be paid in full by the end of January 2023, except for €5 million which is to be paid when the transaction is closed in the coming months. The participants in the deal were the aforementioned Abertis, Intesa, Astaldi and the Tabacchi family, and the addition of the two highways may well allow Abertis to consolidate around €610 million in revenue.

On Tuesday, Barcelona-based Abertis, a multinational company specialised in the management of toll roads and telecommunications infrastructure, announced an agreement to acquire 51.4% of the Italian Brescia-Padua A4 motorway. Spanning 146 km, the A4 is the third busiest in Italy, and acts as an important artery connecting the industry-rich North of Italy to Central Europe. Also to be acquired is the A31, a new route which, thanks to its connection with the A22, may become the fastest and shortest route between Central and Eastern Europe, with the potential to intercept traffic from northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea. The transaction is subject to approval by the Italian government via the extension of the A31, according to a statement released by Abertis. The acquisition was closed for a total of €594 million, to be paid by the end of January 2023, except for €5 million euros, to be paid when the transaction is realised in the coming months.

Thus, Abertis closed the deal with the banking group Intesa, the multinational construction company Astaldi and the Tabacchi family, to gain the majority (51.4%) of the two companies that control the industrial group A4 Holding, whose main assets are these two highways. Currently, A4 Holding operates on 235 km of such roads in the north-eastern region of Veneto, one of the richest in Italy, with the highest levels of GDP and income per capita in the country.

The agreement is subject, among other conditions, to the approval of the Italian government's extension of the A31 motorway, the ‘North Connection Project’.

The acquisition of the motorway may add €610 million in revenue

The A4, known as 'La Serenissima' (‘The Most Serene’), connects the cities of Brescia and Padua through 146 kilometres of motorway. With three lanes in each direction, about 91,000 vehicles circulate per day. The 89 km-long A-31 (known as the ‘Autostrada della Valdastico’) has an average daily traffic of 12,000 vehicles. Currently, it is divided into two sections: between Vicenza-Piovene Rocchette (36 km) and Vicenza-Badia Polesine (53 km). The concession of the two motorways is set to extend until 2026, subject to approval of the A-31 extension.

The addition of the two highways may allow Abertis to consolidate around 610 million euros in revenue, along with €200 million EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) annually.

‘Also to be acquired is the A31, a new route which exists thanks to its connection with the A22, and which may become the fastest and shortest route between Central and Eastern Europe, with the potential to intercept traffic from northern Italy to the Adriatic Sea.’