“Acqua in bocca,” or maintain the water in your mouth, is an Italian expression used to inform somebody to maintain a secret. It actually means to maintain your lips shut so no liquid drips out.
However, within the case of Italian infrastructure big Atlantia, the water’s been dripping out for weeks. It is no secret that the fashion-famous Benetton household and US non-public fairness powerhouse Blackstone are eyeing the agency in what could be the yr’s largest acquisition. On Monday, information leaked {that a} deal might lastly be introduced as early as tomorrow.
Italian Lesson
There was a whole lot of noise that Atlantia might promote at a excessive value, and that is as a result of its portfolio is gigantic. Atlantia has a majority stake in airports in Cannes, Good, Rome, and St. Tropez. It owns highways in Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, the US, and 6 different international locations. It additionally operates toll roads in 24 international locations. As we informed you: their portfolio is gigantic.
That is why Atlantia has a market worth of $17 billion. A takeover by the billionaire Bennetons and Blackstone, which sources informed Bloomberg Information may very well be introduced Wednesday, would simply turn into the yr’s largest deal and one of many largest infrastructure acquisitions in historical past. However there may be nonetheless an opportunity that one other high-profile European might off-ramp the deal into his lane in a battle over who will get to tackle probably the most debt:
- Atlantia has virtually 50 billion euros in debt, in response to Bloomberg information. Meaning any deal, together with debt, would seemingly be within the vary of $71 billion. Edizione, the Benetton household’s holding firm, has a head begin with a 30% stake in Atlantia.
- Florentino Perez, the Spanish development tycoon and president of Actual Madrid soccer membership, is working with NYC fund World Infrastructure Companions and Canadian funding big Brookfield to make a competing bid. Perez leads civil engineering big Grupo ACS, whose tasks additionally embody freeway developments and toll roads.
Dangerous Repute: Atlantia, which grew out of the privatization of Italian highways within the Nineteen Nineties, has been mired in controversy since a 2018 bridge collapse in Genoa led to the demise of 43 folks. The Italian authorities pressured the corporate to promote Autostrade, its Italian roads unit, within the wake of the catastrophe, and a sale was agreed to final month. Paradoxically, the consortium buying Autostrade for $9 billion consists of Blackstone, which might finally find yourself with a chunk of each entities.
