Igneo Infrastructure Partners is acquiring Portuguese toll road concessionaire Auto-Estradas do Douro Litoral (AEDL) from Strategic Value Partners (SVP) funds and other minority investors.
IPE Real Assets understands that AEDL is being sold for around €400m.
AEDL operates the Douro Litoral motorway concession, which includes the A32, A41 and A43 toll motorways in Porto’s metropolitan area.
Portugal awarded the 27-year concession to AEDL in 2007 and operations started in 2012.
SVP acquired AEDL in 2021 after the previous owner, Brisa, defaulted on its debt service obligations.
SVP said it has since implemented changes and renegotiated an operations and maintenance contract with Ascendi, resulting in cost efficiencies for stakeholders.
Under SVP’s ownership, traffic on AEDL’s roads has increased, with a 16% compound annual growth rate, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 37%, it added.
Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of AEDL, said: “We thank SVP for their partnership that has driven significant financial and operational improvement to the concession. We are ready for the next phase of our company’s growth as we welcome Igneo as the new shareholder and look forward to working with them over the coming years.
“AEDL is a strong asset with ambitious future prospects, which will continue to play a crucial role in the region’s economic development as a key component of the infrastructure for the Porto area.”
Alvaro Fabian, managing director at SVP, said: “Douro has been a highly successful investment for us, allowing us to demonstrate all of the key pillars of our investment philosophy.
“After leading the financial restructuring of the company, we have improved operations and performance. We thank AEDL’s management team for their partnership over the years.”
Hamish Lea-Wilson, partner and head of Europe at Igneo, said: “We are delighted to have agreed the acquisition of AEDL. The motorway portfolio combines a long track record, strong traffic growth and an attractive cash flow profile – we believe it will be a great addition to our portfolio of diverse infrastructure assets across Europe.
“We look forward to working with the AEDL management team to continue the development of the business.”
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