Spanish construction group ACS, led by Florentino Pérez, is reportedly weighing a bid for Atlantia, the Italian concessionaire, with a value exceeding 15 billion euros, although no final decision has been announced.
News from Bloomberg indicates that ACS might pursue a takeover offer for the Italian infrastructure concessionaire with which it has had a partnership since 2018 through ACS partnerships.
Following the release of these reports, ACS informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that a decision on acquiring Atlantia has not been made. Atlantia, which closed at market value with a capitalization above 15 billion euros, remains under consideration but has not moved into a formal offer stage.
Nevertheless, ACS has disclosed an exclusive agreement with international funds GIP and Brookfield. This arrangement could enable ACS to seize a substantial portion of Atlantia’s highway concession portfolio, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape in European toll roads.
Several Atlantia insiders, including representatives from the Benetton family who hold about a third of the company, declined to comment. They reiterated that the group’s strategic plans remain focused on the long term, emphasizing continuity in its strategic framework despite ongoing market speculation.
Atlantia’s stock rose by about 2.45% on the day, trading around €18.99 per share and placing the company’s market capitalization near €15.268 billion. At current exchange rates, this approximates roughly $16.65 billion. The figure reflects investor optimism about the potential strategic realignment in Europe’s infrastructure sector.
Historically, Atlantia has been in the middle of a broader restructuring program after years of tension linked to the Morandi bridge disaster in Genoa in 2018, which raised questions about the group’s management of Autostrade per l’Italia (ASPI), its key subsidiary. That event catalyzed scrutiny of safety and governance across Italy’s toll road networks and prompted a strategic pivot for Atlantia’s leadership.
In mid-2021, Atlantia approved the sale of an 88.06% stake in ASPI to a consortium formed by Italy’s public bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and two international investment funds. The operation was designed to raise liquidity for Atlantia and enable a reorganization of the group’s asset portfolio, with resources estimated at around 8 billion euros once the deal closed. This move was part of a broader effort to stabilize the company’s finances and reposition its core activities within the European mobility and infrastructure sector.
Earlier this year, Atlantia disclosed a partnership with Siemens to procure the Yunex Traffic traffic management system for 950 million euros, signaling a strategic push into smart mobility and digital infrastructure. In March, the group announced a 35 million euro investment in a financing round for Volocopter, the German urban air mobility company, highlighting Atlantia’s interest in emerging transportation technologies. ACS had previously joined Atlantia in a bid for Abertis in 2018, a bid that followed a period when the Italian group attempted to acquire the Spanish company on its own the year prior.