Abertis has reached an agreement with minority shareholders to acquire an additional stake of 22.52% in A4 Holding, its Italian subsidiary.

Abertis will pay a total amount of €125 million (US$136 million), of which €36 million will be paid by the end of January 2018, and the rest by the end of July 2017.

As a result of the transaction, Abertis will control 85.36% of A4 Holding, thus reinforcing its strategy of growth in its current portfolio, and in particular, in its subsidiary in Italy, an attractive country for the group. 

From the financial perspective, the purchase will have a positive impact on Abertis’ net profit as a result of lower minorities, and will offer the Group a greater access to the flow of dividends coming from Italy.

As we reported, Abertis is present in Italy since September 2016 after the closing of the acquisition of 51.4% of A4 Holding for €594 million. In February 2017, Abertis purchased an additional 8.53% stake for €47.5 million.

The subsidiary manages the section of the A4 toll road, known as “La Serenissima”, which connects the cities of Brescia and Padova through 146 kilometres. With three lanes per direction, it is one of the toll roads with higher density of traffic in the country. Moreover, it also operates the A31 (Autostada della Valdastico), of 89 kilometres, connecting the towns of Piovene Rocchette and Badia Polesine.

Both sum up 235 kilometres of toll roads in the region of Veneto, one of the most prosperous of Italy, with one of the country’s highest levels of GDP and per capita income in the country. It is a strategic geographic area, being the corridor that connects Italy’s industrial North to Europe’s economic centre.