Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.8894 — ACS/Hochtief/Atlantia/Abertis Infraestructuras) (Text with EEA relevance.)
Date: 2018-06-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: building industry, charges for use of infrastructure, economic concentration, holding company, merger control, parent company, real property, service industry, telecommunications








C_2018208EN.01000701.xml










15.6.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 208/7





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.8894 — ACS/Hochtief/Atlantia/Abertis Infraestructuras)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2018/C 208/06)

1.   
On 1 June 2018, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1).
This notification concerns the following undertakings:






—


Atlantia S.p.A. (‘Atlantia’, Italy),










—


Hochtief AG (‘Hochtief’, Germany), ultimately controlled by ACS Actividades de construcción y Servicios, S.A. (‘ACS’, Spain),










—


Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. (‘Abertis’, Spain).




Atlantia and ACS/Hochtief acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the whole of Abertis.
The concentration is accomplished by way of purchase of shares and will lead Abertis to have the following shareholding structure: (i) Atlantia will own 50 % plus one share, (ii) ACS will own 30 % and (iii) Hochtief will own 20 % minus one share.


2.   
The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Atlantia: holding company mainly active in toll motorway concessions and airport infrastructure sector. Among its areas of business are: ‘Italian motorways’, via Autostrade per l’Italia S.p.A.; ‘Overseas motorways’, with presence in Chile and Brazil and minor assets in Poland and India; and ‘Other related businesses’ which, inter alia, includes activities carried out by Telepass S.p.A., Autostrade Tech S.p.A., Pavimental S.p.A. and Spea Engineering S.p.A. Atlantia’s main shareholder is Edizione S.r.l., via Sintonia S.p.A. Edizione is also active in food services concessions via Autogrill S.p.A.,
—   for Hochtief: active in the infrastructure sector and real estate-related services. It carries out infrastructure development and building projects in the transport, energy and social and urban infrastructure sectors, as well as contract mining activities. Hochtief is present on the construction markets in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, the United States and Canada, as well as Europe. Hochtief is solely controlled by ACS,
—   for ACS: ultimate parent company of a group of companies active in (i) construction, (ii) industrial services and (iii) other services, where the construction activities are by far the largest,
—   for Abertis: parent company of a group operating in the toll roads and telecommunications infrastructure sectors. As to the management of toll motorway in the EU, Abertis activities are concentrated in Spain, in France and, to a lesser extent, in Italy. Abertis also owns a 50 % stake in Areamed 2000 S.A., a joint venture active in Spain in food services concessions.


3.   

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved.



4.   
The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. The following reference should always be specified:
M.8894 — ACS/Hochtief/Atlantia/Abertis Infraestructuras
Observations can be sent to the Commission by email, by fax, or by post. Please use the contact details below:





Email: COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu




Fax +32 22964301




Postal address:




European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË







(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).