Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, S.A. (Iridium), a wholly-owned company of ACS Group (Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A.), and Hermes Infrastructure (Hermes) have entered into an agreement for the sale of 74% of Iridium’s equity holdings in six shadow toll concessions in Spain, with a total Enterprise Value as of December 2019 of more than €950 million on a 100% basis.
Iridium will keep playing an active role in the management and operations and maintenance of the assets through specific O&M and Management Contracts and by maintaining a 26% equity stake along with a significant presence in the governing bodies of the assets and day-to-day management.
The portfolio includes two concessions in Catalonia (Eix Diagonal and Reus-Alcover), one in Castilla la Mancha (Autovía de la Mancha), one in Castilla y Leon (Autovía de los Pinares), one in Navarra (Autovía del Pirineo) and one in Galicia (Santiago-Brion). The six concessions, with a total investment of €1.1 billion, are in operations and have a remaining life of 19.4 years.
The agreement is subject to the customary consents and the required approvals.
Hamish de Run, Head of Hermes Infrastructure, said: “We are excited to enter into this strategic partnership with the ACS Group through its subsidiary Iridium Concesiones, world leaders in the development and operation of concession projects. The acquisition of a majority stake in six of Iridium’s mature, operating toll roads is our first investment in Spain which further diversifies our portfolio and we look forward to working together with them in the future.”
UPDATE: Hermes Infrastructure closed the first phase of the acquisition (three out of the six roads) on January 29, 2020. The remainder of the transaction is expected to close soon.
Iridium Profile: www.iridiumconcesiones.com / www.grupoacs.com
Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, S.A. is the ACS Group company which develops, finances, invests in, manages, operates, maintains, conserves, restores and equips all types of government concessions involving transport and public works infrastructure. Iridium manages more than 100 companies working in the construction/operation of various government concessions, making it the world’s leader in developing, financing, building and operating every type of infrastructure in the main geographic markets of the world.
The ACS Group is one of the world’s leading construction and service companies. It is involved in the development of sectors that are key to the economy, such as infrastructure and energy. The company is committed to the economic and social progress of the countries in which it operates.
Hermes Infrastructure Profile: www.hermes-investment.com
Hermes Infrastructure is a specialist investment manager providing institutional investors equity investment opportunities in infrastructure across the UK, Europe and other OECD jurisdictions. Established in 2011, we manage over £4 billion of committed and invested capital including £2.8 billion of existing investments.
Hermes Investment Management, a Federated Investors company, provides world-class active investment management and stewardship services. Hermes, headquartered in London, manages $45.8 billion in assets* and offers a broad range of specialist, high-conviction investment strategies spanning listed equities, credit, real estate, infrastructure, private debt and private equity. Hermes’ strategies focus not just on financial results, but also on delivering outcomes beyond performance: holistic returns that consider impacts to society, the environment and the wider world. In Hermes EOS, the company offers one of the industry’s leading engagement resources, representing $637.8 billion of assets. For more information, visit www.hermes-investment.com .
* Please note the total AUM figure includes US$8.4bn of assets managed or under an advisory agreement by Hermes GPE LLP (“HGPE”), a joint venture between Hermes Fund Managers Limited (“HFM”), HGPE Capital Limited and GPE Partner Limited. HGPE is an independent entity and not part of the Hermes group. US$30.0m of total group AUM figure represents HFM mandates under advice. Source: Hermes as at 30 June 2019.