Florentino Perez Weighs Bid for Infrastructure Firm Atlantia

(Bloomberg) -- Spanish construction tycoon Florentino Perez is working with two investment funds on a potential offer for Italian infrastructure company Atlantia SpA, in what would be one of the biggest takeovers of the year.

Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA, the Madrid-based builder of which Perez is both chairman and the top shareholder, has an exclusive agreement with Global Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. in which it would acquire the majority of Atlantia's toll-road business, ACS said in a regulatory filing. No final decisions have yet been made, ACS said.

Bloomberg News reported Perez's interest earlier Wednesday, sending shares of Atlantia up as much as 9%.

The stock closed up 2.5% in Milan, giving the company a market value of 15.7 billion euros ($17.1 billion). Including a premium, an acquisition of the company would be one of the five largest announced so far in 2022 based on equity alone, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The company has debt of almost 50 billion euros, the data show.

Blackstone Group Inc. is also exploring a bid for the company, according to people familiar with the details, raising the prospect of a potential bidding war between the U.S. private equity giant and Perez's group. Blackstone is in discussions to team up with Italy's billionaire Benetton family, which already owns 33% of Atlantia, to take the company private, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details aren't public.

Any takeover would be difficult without the agreement of the Benettons and could draw scrutiny from the Italian government. The industrial Benetton clan recently increased its grip on Atlantia by boosting its stake after the 8 billion-euro sale of the company's Italian highway-toll unit, Autostrade, last year. While Perez would seek to team up with the family on a deal for Atlantia, he may also consider a hostile bid, the people said.

Investors continue to pour money into infrastructure, drawn by the stable, recurring returns these assets can generate. GIP is in talks to raise the world's biggest pool of capital dedicated to the sector, Bloomberg News reported in February, while Blackstone Inc. last year reopened a flagship infrastructure fund to new money.

Perez and the Benettons already have ties through their joint ownership of Abertis Infraestructuras SA, the Spanish highway operator. Representatives for Atlantia and Blackstone declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Benetton's Edizione Srl declined to comment on Perez's interest, and wasn't available to comment on Blackstone when contacted outside business hours.

Perez-led ACS considered an offer for Autostrade, before the toll operator was eventually sold to an investor group led by Italian state-backed lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA.

Atlantia has been refocusing on expansion and diversification plans, having been under fire ever since 43 people died in a 2018 bridge collapse in Genoa on a roadway managed by Autostrade. Alessandro Benetton was appointed chairman of Edizione in January to help refocus the family's business.

In the same month, the company agreed to buy Siemens AG's road-traffic business in a 950 million-euro deal. It's also targeting investments in the mobility sector as technology and digital services become more important across transportation networks.

Edizione views Atlantia as a long-term strategic asset, according to a person with knowledge of the company.

Outside of construction, Perez is best known as the president of Spanish football club Real Madrid. He was one of the leaders of a group of football teams that proposed the creation of a new European Super League last year. The plan quickly disintegrated after fierce opposition from fans and politicians, including those in Italy.