EXCLUSIVE Atlantia considers Hochtief’s stake non-strategic and may sell it -sources

MILAN, July 7 (Reuters) – Italy’s Atlantia (ATL.MI) considers its 16% stake in German automaker Hochtief (HOTG.DE) to be not strategic and could sell it in the future while it is preparing to reorganize its investment portfolio after agreeing to sell its Italian motorway unit, three sources said.

“The stake in Hochtief is not strategic .. and the group plans to exit the construction business in the future,” one of the sources said.

No final decision has been made on the potential sale of Hochtief’s stake and there is no urgency, another source said.

Hochtief declined to comment on the matter.

Atlantia, which acquired 23.9% of Hochtief in 2018 as part of an agreement to acquire Spanish toll motorway operator Abertis with Spain’s ACS (ACS.MC), currently holds a stake of 15 , 9%, whose current market value is around 750 million euros. euros ($ 887 million).

The Italian group is the second largest investor in the German group behind its Spanish partner ACS, which holds 50.4%.

The investment was initially aimed at developing entirely new construction projects, but Abertis then chose to follow a different path, with acquisitions of highway assets, including an agreement in 2020 to buy US tunnel operator Elizabeth River Crossing.

Atlantia, controlled by the Benetton family, is currently considering options after agreeing to sell its Italian motorway business to a consortium led by state lender CDP earlier this year following a bridge collapse there three years ago.

The group, which will raise some € 8 billion in cash through the CDP deal, is working with McKinsey to identify a set of policy options by the end of the year, one of the sources said.

The sources said the group is looking to expand its Telepass digital payment unit, possibly through acquisitions in Europe, and may also consider developing a network of small airports linked to leisure activities.

Last year Atlantia agreed to sell a 49% stake in Telepass for more than € 1 billion to transform the unit into a pan-European full-service platform for consumers and businesses.

The group is also considering new investments in highway assets and could venture into sustainability-related activities such as renewable energy and sustainable mobility projects, the sources said.

($ 1 = 0.8460 euros)

Reporting by Francesca Landini and Stephen Jewkes; additional reporting by Matthias Inverardi in Düsseldorf; edited by Jason Neely

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