Atlantia and ACS-Hochtief (ACS) signed this Tuesday the loan of 10 billion euros underwritten by Abertis HoldCo, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) controlled by Atlantia in which ACS has a 30% holding.
Of the total of this initial loan, 3 billion euros will remain in the company, 2.2 billion will be repaid in the short term through asset disinvestment like the sale of Hispasat and 29.9% of Cellnex (already completed in June), while another tranche of 4.75 billion will be financed with bonds.
The combination of the two amounts will be used to “buy” Abertis from Hochtief, the subsidiary of ACS which was entrusted with taking over the concessions group with a bid worth 18.1 billion euros. This was established in the agreement with the Spanish construction company and the Italian company put to one side their bidding “war” for the company and passed to own it jointly.
The loan counts on the participation of four Spanish banks, Santander, BBVA, Bankia and Caixabank, which will contribute a total of 1.095 billion euros.
With the agreement to jointly buy Abertis, ACS and Atlantia are seeking to create a world leader in the construction and operation of major infrastructure, a group with which they can compete for a portfolio of projects valued at some 200 billion euros in markets they consider strategic, like the US, Australia and Europe.
The signature of the loan will have no significant impact on the shareholder given that the financing agreement has already been closed in April and the signature is part of the process by which Atlantia and ACS take control of Abertis once the SPV which will manage Abertis´assets has been formally constituted.
