Salini - Impregilo has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of U.S. based contractor Lane Industries in a US$406 million deal.
Salini - Impregilo will finance this transaction with available cash, existing credit lines and new financing available at closing. The acquisition is expected to close in January 2016.
Lane is an US highway contractor and private asphalt producer. The company has three divisions: asphalt production, road projects and other infrastructure projects, in both domestic and international markets. It is a family-owned business with more than 100 years of history specialized in heavy civil construction and in the transportation infrastructure sector with approx. $1.5 billion turnover.
The acquisition of Lane represents a further step by Salini - Impregilo to expand in the US infrastructure market. It will enable the Group to create a platform to seize opportunities in a market where having a local presence and a local team of managers it is must to succeed.
The US transportation infrastructure market (US$130 billion in 2014) is expected to grow above GDP on the back of a recovering economy, a positive demographic trend and the pent-up demand for significant upgrades and expansions of existing infrastructure after years of underinvestment. The presence of Lane into the Group will bring significant growth opportunities.
Pietro Salini, Salini - Impregilo CEO, commented:
"The Lane acquisition will be a key milestone in the development of our company. After the completion of the merger between Salini and Impregilo in January 2014, we demonstrated our ability to integrate businesses, to create value for our shareholders and to achieve our business plan target, profit and enhancement of human resources. Our Group already operates in the US with its subsidiary Healy, and has already developed projects such as the Metro in San Francisco, and Lake Mead in Nevada. With Lane, we bring our group to a new, more ambitious level as we reach a truly global scale while preserving a sound financial structure. We will be at home in more than 50 countries with a workforce of more than 35,000 employees. We will have a leadership position in the US, in Europe as well as in high-growth regions. We will be able to compete globally and seize the best opportunities on a risk-adjusted basis. We will achieve all of this thanks to the acquisition of a great US company that shares many things in common with Salini Impregilo. I look forward to welcoming into our group the talented Lane management team and its employees so we can build together a solid and profitable future".