Abertis Infraestructuras S A : reaffirms its commitment to the Italian market with the purchase of an additional 8.53% of its subsidiary A4 Holding

Abertis has reached an agreement to increase the control on its subsidiary in Italy, A4 Holding, with the purchase of Gruppo Gavius (8.37%) and Gruppo Mantovani (0.16%) stakes. After the acquisition, Abertis will control nearly 60% of A4 Holding, which manages the A-4 Brescia-Padova and A-31 toll roads.

Abertis will pay €47.5 Mn, which represents a 10% discount on the agreed price for the purchase of 51.4% last September.

The deal will allow a greater simplification of the management of A4 Holding, an asset with an attractive profile for the company. From the financial perspective, the acquisition will have a positive impact on Abertis' Net Profit as a result of lower minorities. It will also allow the company to have greater access to the dividend stream from Italy.

This transaction, which follows the announced last January for the purchase of a 10.52% of Sanef (France), demonstrates the ability of Abertis to grow with attractive returns in its existing portfolio of assets respecting financial discipline and creating value for shareholders.

Both agreements enable Abertis to reduce its operational risk profile and rebalance its global portfolio by increasing the weight of robust economies, like France and Italy, with stable concessions frameworks and a clear commitment to the public-private partnerships in the toll road sector. Therefore, the company will continue exploring transactions of a similar nature in these markets.

Description of assets

A4 Holding currently manages 235 kilometers of toll roads in the region of Veneto, one of Italy's most prosperous areas, with one of the country's highest levels of GDP and per-capita income. It is a strategic geographical area, forming part of the corridor connecting Italy's industrial North to Europe's economic centre.

Among its main assets of toll roads, there is the A4 toll road, known as 'La Serenissima', connecting the cities of Brescia and Padova along 146 kilometres. With three lanes both ways, is the toll road with the third highest density of traffic in the country.

The 89-kilometre A31 (named 'Autostrada della Valdastico') connects Piovene Rocchette with Badia Polesine.

The concession contract for both toll roads (A4 and A31) expires on 31 December 2026.