•The $2.85 billion bid submitted by the Spanish group has won the largest highway privatization process ever carried out in Puerto Rico, which aims to boost the efficiency of the island’s last remaining public toll roads, which account for more than 60% of traffic.

•The new assets add up to 192 km of highly strategic roads connecting large population areas to the San Juan metropolitan area, as well as to the south and east of the island.

•Abertis' shareholders will contribute €1.3 billion to support the financing of this transaction and, once the relevant authorizations are obtained, of the acquisition of 56.8% of SH-288 in Houston for $1.53 billion, and to reinforce its balance sheet with the objective of strengthening Abertis' global leadership in transportation infrastructure concessions, while maintaining its current credit rating.

•José Aljaro, Abertis CEO, stressed that "we have a solid and proven commitment to Puerto Rico for 20 years and we are very excited about this new growth project on the island. This confirms that we are moving forward with a clear growth strategy, in the context of the new strategic collaboration agreement reached last July between our shareholders, Mundys and ACS".

 17th October 2023.- Abertis, the world's leading infrastructure management group, has won the Puerto Rico tender to upgrade, operate and maintain four new toll roads over the next 40 years. The Group's offer to pay $2.85 billion for the concession was the most competitive bid submitted in the bidding process.

In operating the new concessions, Abertis is going to leverage the operational efficiencies of Metropistas, its Puerto Rican subsidiary, of which it is the majority shareholder. With this new award and under Puerto Rico's Public-Private Partnership Law, Abertis will manage the PR-52, PR-66, PR-20 and PR-53 highways, in addition to the ones it was already running in Puerto Rico, such as PR-22, PR-5 and the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge.

The shareholders will contribute €1.3 billion euros to support the financing of this operation in Puerto Rico and the acquisition of the SH-288 in Houston (Texas) for $1.53 billion, maintaining an optimal capital structure, in accordance with Abertis' commitment to maintain its credit rating. The transaction will also be financed with new bank debt and company available cash. This contribution is part of the new strategic collaboration agreement between Mundys and ACS to strengthen Abertis' global leadership in transport infrastructure concessions.

The transaction is to be concluded before the year end. From that moment on, the concession will begin to operate following Metropistas' standards in operation, safety, quality and sustainability terms, based on the experience that Metropistas has gleaned in managing infrastructure in Puerto Rico over the last 12 years.

With this transaction, Abertis complies with its strategy of growth and cash flow replacement, and once again demonstrates the financial flexibility and quality of its asset management in an efficient and sustainable manner, as well as its capacity to continue extending the average concession life of its assets.

This operation increases Abertis' exposure to the U.S. market, in line with its long-term strategy of maintaining a balanced portfolio, with a strong currency mix such as the dollar, investing in countries with a stable legal framework and maintaining its current credit rating.

Essential, strategically-located assets

The PR-52, PR-66 and PR-20 are highly-strategic highways connecting to the San Juan metropolitan area, while PR-53 is located in the southern and eastern parts of the Island. All of these assets, which account for more than 60% of the island's toll traffic, provide critical connections between large population areas.

Abertis will be managing the roads on a Free Flow or barrier-free toll system basis, which provides major advantages for users by improving safety, increasing capacity and optimizing the level of service of the lanes and reducing users' emissions of polluting gases. In the case of PR-52, it includes managed lanes (Dynamic Toll Lanes), whose operation guarantees traffic flow through a dynamic toll system that adjusts rates according to traffic conditions in real time. The system uses video technology to identify collisions and includes a system for communicating with drivers through electronic signals.

The new highways show a solid historical traffic performance, with an 8% increase in the first semester of 2023 versus the same period in 2022, and generated revenues of 153 million dollars in 2022.

Most of this motorway’s users are daily commuters driving light vehicles who need a fast road to get to work and back as fast as possible. The maintenance investment plan for this mature toll road will meet Abertis' quality standards, but no significant expansion capex is required.

Puerto Rico has a strong, organised and well-developed legal system in which US federal laws are generally applied. The island has remained very resilient in recent years, overcoming difficulties such as Hurricane Maria and COVID-19, situations in which traffic levels recovered fast.

Metropistas in Puerto Rico

Metropistas sign the first public-private partnership 12 years ago under Act 29-2009, which underpins the structure of this concession, largely because it has been a proven precedent of success. In 10 years, the Metropistas team has demonstrated its proven experience in managing public-private agreements, managing 270 million dollars in investments to improve the conditions of these highways and users' safety.

Metropistas will apply its experience and track record in this new milestone in Puerto Rico's history to improve mobility, infrastructure quality and offer quality solutions for drivers' benefit throughout the 1.000 km of additional lanes that cross 26 municipalities.

Abertis CEO José Aljaro was highly satisfied with the addition of this new asset, stating that "we have a solid and proven commitment to Puerto Rico since the construction of the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge. For 20 years, Abertis has worked closely with the Government of Puerto Rico to improve road infrastructure conditions on the island and provide the safety and convenience that users deserve. This transaction is set to significantly reinforce one of our priority markets, namely the US, and is confirmation that our growth strategy is clear. This result is part of the new strategic partnership agreement reached last July between our shareholders, Mundys and ACS, who back the Group's moves to expand its concessions portfolio and strengthen its global leadership in the infrastructure sector".

• Press Release