Renta 4 | ACS may have reached an agreement with its partner Atlantia to inject capital into Abertis with the aim of making infraestructure acquisitions.
According to press reports, the owners of Abertis, ACS (30% direct stake, 20% – 1 share via Hochtief) and Atlantia (50% + 1 share) could have agreed to inject capital in the concessionary in order to make new infrastructure acquisitions. In addition, to extend some of the current concessions via larger investments.
Both partners have significant amounts of capital after the divestments they have made. And while there are no concrete details, we understand the capital injections would be in proportion to the number of shares each currently holds. The combined amount could be over 10 billion euros. And according to the media, it is foreseeable this could be used to buy assets in the US, Puerto Rico or Greece, as well as to extend the concession on assets in France.
Valuation:
We await the details of the transaction, as well as the terms of the agreement and the destination of the funds. However we consider that it could be positive for ACS’ growth strategy in the area of infrastructures.
Abertis has historically been characterised by its strict financial discipline when acquiring new assets. So we believe the risk return on the possible purchases is a priori limited. This capital injection would allow the concessionary to control leverage and continue with its dividend policy.
