Brussels green lights Atlantia’s bid for Abertis

The European Commission on Friday authorized Atlantia’s bid for fellow toll road operator Abertis. In a statement, the Commission said the proposed takeover raised no competition concerns due to the presence of significant competitors in the market, a lack of geographical overlap between the road networks managed by the firms, and the fact that toll-road concessions are a highly regulated market.

Italian group Atlantia received approval for its 16.3-billion euro offer from the Spanish market regulator on Monday. The EU has given any other suitors for Abertis until October 24 to submit rival bids. Various media sources have reported that Spanish civil and engineering construction company ACS will likely launch a counterbid next week.

Half in cash, half in shares

While the value of any offer by ACS is still unknown, it is expected to be roughly half in cash, with the rest in newly issued shares in German construction group Hochtief, an ACS subsidiary. The ACS board has confirmed that it will meet on Wednesday 18 and, under Spanish law, the company has until Thursday 19 to present a counterbid.

While Atlantia describes its offer as "friendly", the view of Abertis shareholders remains unknown. Abertis' top shareholder is Criteria Caixa, the financial arm of the influential  banking foundation that controls Catalonia's largest lender, Caixabank.