Atlantia chairman aims for buyout to be sealed this year
CERNOBBIO, Italy (Reuters) – A buyout of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia by the Benetton household and U.S. fund Blackstone Inc might be accomplished by the tip of the yr, Atlantia’s chairman mentioned on Sunday.
The bidders proposed a 58 billion euro ($57.7 billion) supply in April to take the airport and motorway operator non-public however have but to launch a proper bid pending regulatory clearance.
“We hope to have the ability to respect the timetable that we’ve set,” Atlantia Chairman Giampiero Massolo advised Reuters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Discussion board convention in northern Italy.
The doubtless situation was for a bid to be launched in October, with the goal of delisting the enterprise by the tip of the yr, he added.
He additionally confirmed that the group was taking a look at a possible funding in Chicago Skyway, a U.S. freeway toll operator owned by Canadian pension funds OMERS and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Funding Board.
“It is an fascinating asset,” Massolo mentioned.
Spain’s El Economista newspaper reported in June that Abertis deliberate to bid for a 66.6% stake in Chicago Skyway in a transaction that may exceed 2.5 billion euros.
Abertis is a toll highway operator managed by Atlantia and Spanish engineering firm ACS, which is led by Actual Madrid soccer membership proprietor Florentino Perez.
Massolo mentioned that relations remained good with ACS and Perez, who had been concerned in a rival buyout supply for Atlantia this yr.
($1 = 1.0049 euros)
(Reporting by Francesco Zecchini; Writing by Keith Weir; Modifying by David Goodman)
