EU Approves Hochtief's Proposed Acquisition of Abertis

   By Max Bernhard

The European Commission said Tuesday that it has approved Hochtief AG's (HOT.XE) proposed acquisition of Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE.MC).

The authority said it concluded that the new entity would still face enough competition in relevant markets.

The European Commission's approval makes it likely that the proposed bid will also be approved by Spain's market regulator CNMV and could trigger a bidding war between Hochtief and Italy's Atlantia SpA (ATL.MI), which has also put in a bid for Abertis.

Germany-based Hochtief, owned by Spanish Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (ACS.MC), placed a bid valuing Abertis at 18.6 billion euros ($23.1 billion).

Atlantia's rival bid values the company at EUR16.3 billion. The Spanish government and the CNMV have already approved the bid, and Atlantia said it would consider raising its offer for Abertis if Hochtief's bid is approved by EU and Spanish regulators.

Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2018 12:06 ET (17:06 GMT)

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