Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A.

International Directory of Company Histories, Volume 65 (1994) by M. Cohen

Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A.

Avda del Parc Logistic 12-20 Barcelona E-08040 Spain Telephone: 34 93 230 50 00 Fax: 34 93 230 50 01 Web site: http://www.abertis.com

Public Company Incorporated: 2003 Employees: 4,741 Sales: EUR 1.28 billion ($1.1 billion) (2003) Stock Exchanges: Madrid Barcelona Ticker Symbol: ABE NAIC: 237310 Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction; 517110 Wired Telecommunications Carriers; 541320 Landscape Architectural Services; 561730 Landscaping Services; 811198 All Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance

Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. has gone beyond its position as the leading operator of toll roads in Spain to become an international transportation infrastructure specialist. As such, Abertis, through its Saba subsidiary, is Spain's leading operator of parking garages, with more than 90,000 car parking spaces in more than 35 cities. Saba is also present in 25 cities in Italy, Portugal, Morocco, and Andorra. Abertis has also extended its infrastructure operations through subsidiary abertis logistica to include CIM Vallés logistics park, the Ronda del Litoral and the Cilsa port operation in Barcelona, and two new logistics centers in Alava and Sevilla, which will add some 500,000 square meters of warehouse space and 200,000 square meters of offices under the company's management. In another infrastructure extension, Abertis has acquired control of the Tradia and Retevision radio and telecommunications transmission networks, providing analog and digital transmission capabilities at more than 2,400 sites in Spain. Lastly, Abertis has entered the airport management arena, joining Codad to manage Colombia's Eldorado airport. Nonetheless, toll roads remain the company's largest operation, accounting for 84 percent of its revenues of nearly EUR 1.3 billion ($1.1 billion) in 2003. In Spain the company's network, developed through the mergers of Acesa, Aurea, and Iberpistas, comprises some 68 percent of the country's toll road system, as well as stakes in the Túnel de Cadi and Autema. Spain also represents Abertis' primary market, at 94 percent of its revenues. Abertis, however, has sought to enhance its international position at the turn of the century, and includes motorway operations in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and stakes in toll road operators Autostrade, in Italy; Brisa, in Portugal; and RMB, in the United Kingdom. Together, the company directly controls 1,500 kilometers of motorways.

Building Spain's Highway System in the 1960s

Formed through the merger of Acesa and Aurea, followed by the absorption of Iberpistas in 2003, Abertis represented the combination of nearly 40 years of road-building in Spain. Acesa started out as Autopistas, Conceionaria Española SA, and was founded in 1967 in order to build Spain's first toll road, the highway linking Montgat and Mataró. Based in Barcelona, Acesa became a major regional player, constructing nearly 550 kilometers of roadway, including the Jonquera-Salou segment, the Maresme coastal road, and the link through the Ebro corridor to Zaragoza.

Acesa, which came under control of the La Caixha insurance group, also expanded through a series of mergers and acquisitions, such as the 1979 absorption of Aecasa, which extended Acesa's network to include the toll road linking Montmeló and El Papiol. In 1984, Acesa grew again, acquiring the motorway operations of Acasa. That acquisition permitted Acesa to extend its network from Zaragoza to the Mediterranean.

Elsewhere in Spain, a number of other companies were steadily completing the country's roadway grid. Construction leader Dragados had entered the road-building market in the mid-1960s, based on its experience paving runways for the country's airports. The company's first concession in Spain was awarded in 1967, for the construction of a toll road connecting Seville and Cadiz. Dragados later emerged as a major force in the Spanish and international infrastructures market, completing more than 2,500 kilometers of highways, including toll roads, as well as more than 4,000 kilometers of other roadways, among other projects. Dragados also became active in a number of other concessions markets, including the award of the management contract for Colombia's Eldorado Airport in 1995.

Dragados began shifting its strategy in the late 1990s, seeking to reduce its reliance on construction and instead focus on its other fast-growing operations, such as its Services divisions, and also to broaden its international operations. As part of this effort, Dragados spun off parts of its concessions business, including its Spanish toll road operations, into a merger with another major Spanish toll road operator, Aumar, in 2000, creating Aurea Infraestructure e Concessions.

Founded in 1971, Aumar, or Autopistas del Mare Nostrum, began construction on the first of two toll road concessions, linking Tarragona and Valencia, in 1974. Following the completion of that first section, the company completed the successive segment, joining Valencia with Alicante. By 1985, the full length of the company's concessions had been completed, bringing the toll road to the French border. In 1986, Aumar purchased another toll road operator, Bética de Autopistas. Following its merger with Dragados's toll road business, the company reincorporated as the publicly listed Aurea. Dragados remained the company's largest shareholder, with 36 percent of its stock.