Chinese and Spanish companies were reportedly among potential buyers of Brisa, Portugal’s main road concessionaire, but it was a grouping of three institutional investors that made the deal. Among the new shareholders is NPS, the national pension service of South Korea.
According to a statement by José de Mello Group (JMG), the new shareholders will take 81% of Brisa. JMG will relinquish control of the company, retaining a 17% stake, but Vasco de Mello will remain as chairman of the board.
The 81% of Brisa will be split between NPS and APG (asset manager of ABP, the pension fund for civil servants and the education sector in the Netherlands), through an investment vehicle controlled in equal parts. The group also includes SLAM, asset manager owned by Swiss Life, the largest life insurance company in Switzerland.
“When formalized and announced in the current economic context of great adversity, this deal, which is one of the largest foreign investments made in Portugal in recent years, is also a sign of confidence of international investors in the Portuguese economy”, indicates Grupo José de Mello in the statement.
Quoted in the statement, CEO Vasco de Mello says that “this partnership, celebrated in the current context of great adversity, is a sign of confidence in Portugal and the Portuguese economy and represents a unique opportunity for Brisa to strengthen and accelerate its position in the area of mobility. ”
The National Pension Service Investment Management (NPSIM), was launched in 1999 under the mission of professionally managing the National Pension Fund and has evolved into a global institutional investor with assets under management of KRW 738 trillion (around USD 300 billion), as of the end of Feb 2020.
According to Chief Investment Officer Hyo-Joon Ahn, cumulative investment return has reached KRW 364 trillion (around USD 606 billion) with an annual average rate of 5.21% as of the end of Feb 2020.
Due to the high impact of the fund on the domestic financial market and the prolonged trend of low-interest rate and low growth, the fund has proactively been seeking new investment opportunities with more diversified portfolios.
The value of the deal was not revealed, but according to the Portuguese press Brisa is valued at more than 3 billion euros, so the investment should be worth around 2.4 billion euros.
José de Mello group will use the capital to repay debt, strengthening its capital, while it invests in other business areas, namely health services (CUF), chemical industry and winemaking).
With the operation, Arcus investment fund also leaves Brisa´s capital. In 2013, José de Mello Group partnered with Arcus to launch a takeover bid (OPA) that took the company off the capital market.
According to news reports, there were five groups in the race: Abertis and Global Via (both from Spain), a consortium led by Ardien (France) and also China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
Through Brisa Operação e Manutenção (Operation and Maintenance), Brisa ensures the operation of 1.628 km in Portugal, in a network of 17 motorways, 6 Complementary Routes and 6 National Roads.
Photo of Brisa highway in Portugal | © MacauHub
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