CVC looks for €7bn for joint Abertis bid
SPANISH infrastructure group Abertis’ core owners and private equity firm CVC are set to secure up to €7bn (£5.8bn) to fund their buyout of the firm, a source close to the operation said yesterday.
Spanish builder ACS, savings bank La Caixa’s unit Criteria and Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners have persuaded a total of 14 banks to come up with the cash to help them launch a full bid for Abertis, the source said, despite the global credit squeeze.
“The financing is going well. It ought to close next week. The financing banks are 14 and the size is €6-7 bn. The plan foresees an equal share among all (banks), who will all act as bookrunner,” the source said.
Criteria and ACS, which together control over half of Abertis, said on Monday they might sell a large chunk of their stakes to a three-way investment vehicle with CVC, ahead of a full bid for Abertis.
The deal comes after months of rumours that ACS was attempting to sell all or part of its stake in Abertis – around 26 per cent – to finance its plan to raise its stake in power utility Iberdrola to 20 per cent from the 12 per cent currently.
Although the structure of any acquisition alongside two existing shareholders is not yet clear, CVC was expected to need to raise up to €8bn in debt in order to take over Abertis.
It appears the companies want Abertis to stay listed after the bid.