- The transaction is conditional upon giving the pertinent notices and obtaining the requisite authorisations and registrations.
- The Chilean toll roads, which total 907 kilometers from north to south, obtained 147.5 million euros in revenues in the first nine months of 2009.
- The transaction is part of the Company’s asset rotation policy. In recent months, Ferrovial has divested Cintra Aparcamientos and London Gatwick airport.
Cintra, Ferrovial’s toll road subsidiary, today agreed to sell 60% of its stake in Cintra Chile to the Colombian ISA Group. The transaction amounts to approximately 209 million euros, since the agreed price is 7,150,000 UF (Unidades de Fomento, the inflation-adjusted unit of account used in Chile).
The parties have granted each other call and put options on the other 40%. The transaction is conditional upon giving the pertinent notifications and obtaining the necessary authorisations in Spain, Colombia, Chile and other jurisdictions where the parties are located.
The consolidated net after-tax gain from the transaction is estimated at approximately 250 million euros (including both the sale of 60% of Cintra’s stake and the exercise of the call/put options).
That gain will be recognised in 2010, following the pertinent authorisations and registrations.
In the first nine months of 2009, Cintra Chile obtained 147.5 million euros in revenues and 102 million euros in EBITDA. Cintra Chile’s consolidated gross debt at the end of September 2009 was 1.200 billion euros.
Enrique Díaz-Rato, CEO of Cintra, highlighted that the transaction makes strategic sense for the Company: “The agreement fits into our strategy of raising additional funds by selling more mature assets in our portfolio in order to use the proceeds for new projects with strong value-creation potential”.
This transaction falls under Ferrovial’s policy of asset rotation. So far this year, the Company has sold Cintra’s car park division for 451 million euros and London Gatwick airport for 1.657 billion euros.
Cintra manages over 907 kilometers of toll roads in Chile
Cintra Chile owns five sections of the Ruta 5 toll road, which total 907 kilometers, between Santiago de Chile and the city of Río Bueno. The road is a vital component of Chile’s north-south backbone.
The five toll road sections in Chile, one of the world’s strongest toll road markets, are as follows:
- Santiago Talca: 237 kilometers, owned 100% by Cintra.
- Talca Chillán: 193 kilometers, owned 67.6% by Cintra.
- Chillán Collipulli: 161 kilometers, owned 100% by Cintra.
- Collipulli Temuco: 144 kilometers, owned 100% by Cintra.
- Temuco Río Bueno: 172 kilometers, owned 75% by Cintra.
Ferrovial entered the Chilean market in 1996 when it was awarded the Talca-Chillán toll road, which is part of Ruta 5. In 1998, it obtained the concession for the Temuco-Río Bueno section. The following year, it was awarded the Collipulli-Temuco and Santiago-Talca sections. In 2006, it acquired Ruta del Bosque, the concession-holder of the Chillán-Collipulli section.
Major transactions by Cintra in 2009 include financial closure of the North Tarrant Express project in Texas. Cintra is also finalizing financial closure of the IH-635 project, in Texas.
About ISA
ISA is a Colombian company with operations in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Panama and Central America; through subsidiaries and investees, it is involved in the design, construction and operation of linear infrastructures, based on a vision of promoting the continent’s development.
ISA is involved in electricity transmission, infrastructure construction and telecommunications, it operates and manages energy markets, and it develops roads under the concession formula.
ISA’s consolidated assets amounted to 7.9 billion dollars at the end of September 2009, and its revenues amounted to approximately 1.305 billion dollars. It has ten subsidiaries in the electricity industry, making it Latin America’s largest international electricity transmission operator, with over 38,000 kilometers of high-tension lines. Through subsidiary INTERNEXA, it has 13,000 kilometers of telecommunications grid, the largest such network in South America, connecting Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
About Ferrovial
Ferrovial is one of the world’s leading infrastructure groups, with over 100,000 employees, a presence in 49 countries and operations in a range of complementary industries such as construction, airport and toll road management and maintenance, and municipal services. The company owns two of the top privately-owned transportation assets in the world: Heathrow airport, in London, and 407 ETR, in Toronto, as well as Chicago Skyway and the Ausol toll road in Spain. Over 60% of Ferrovial’s revenues are obtained outside Spain, fundamentally in OECD countries. The company, which is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the FTSE4Good index.
