EU: Abertis and Atlantia toll motorway merger approved by EC

The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Abertis by Atlantia. The Commission has come to the conclusion that the merged entity would continue to face effective competition in the markets concerned.

The Commission considered that the proposed transaction would not pose any competition problems in these markets as other important competitors are present. On food services, Atlantia’s main shareholder is Edizione and its sub-brand Autogrill. Atlantia is an Italian holding company mainly active in the toll motorway concessions and airport infrastructure sectors and is active in Italy and, more marginally, in Poland while the company also operates electronic payment systems and intelligent transport systems. The second company, Abertis, is based in Spain and is the parent company of a group operating in toll roads and telecommunications infrastructure sectors. As for toll motorway management within the bloc, Abertis is mainly active in Spain, in France and, to a lesser extent, in Italy.

Commissioner for Competition Policy Margrethe Vestager suggested that Atlantia and Abertis would together become the largest operator of toll motorways, not only in Europe but also throughout the world. “We can approve the transaction because our analysis under EU merger control found that the European markets for motorway concessions will remain competitive”.

The EU executive examined the impact of the proposed transaction where the activities of the two overlap. These activities are mainly of the management of toll motorway concessions, the provision of electronic toll services, in which Atlantia’s Telepass system is a strong player and the provision of equipment and services for intelligent transport systems.

Full Content: Europa

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