Fortis RE acquires Spanish car park firm for EUR 100m

Interparking Group, a 90%-owned subsidiary of Fortis Real Estate, has acquired Spanish car park company Metropark from the Metrovacesa Group.

Metropark is mainly active in Valencia, Madrid and Santiago de Compostela. The portfolio also includes also the car parking facilities of four hospitals, including Madrid's major hospital La Paz and Valencia’s major hospital La Fe. The car parks consist of 4,450 parking spaces which accommodated 2.1 million clients in 2008, Fortis RE said.

Ernesto Piera, CEO of Interparking Hispania said the acquisition was valued at more than EUR 100 mln and complemented Interparking Hispania's existing portfolio. Following the acquisition, Interparking Hispania will operate 52 car parks in 42 cities totalling more than 18,500 parking spaces, he said.

Roland Cracco, CEO of Interparking, added that the deal strengthened Interparking's position among the three leading European car park operators, with a portfolio of more than 560 facilities located in seven European countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Italy) and confirmed its intention to continue growing in Europe.

The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities. Interparking was assisted in the transaction by Mazars (due diligence), Prat & Roca (legal) and Solventis (financial brokerage).