acute coronary syndrome continues to expand its international portfolio and has announced an agreement with Clal Insurance through its subsidiary Iridium to acquire an additional 12.11% of the capital responsible for the SH-288 toll motorway concessionin Houston (United States), for approx 250 million euros. This new outlay comes in addition to the 900 million committed on 31 August for the acquisition of another 44.65% of the company. With these latest movements, ACS now holds 78.38% of the capital invested in the project, as reported Monday to the CNMV.
The closing of the operation is still subject to obtaining the related administrative authorizations and compliance with the conditions precedent to this type of agreement, as well as the closing of the operation announced in the summer and in which the companies InfraRed Capital Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners and Star America were involved.
The concession is part of a 52-year public-private partnership contract awarded in 2015 by the Texas Department of Transportation to the consortium led by Iridium, a consortium in which the construction companies of Grupo ACS Dragados USA and Pulice also participated. . This contract includes the financing, design, construction and operation of four new toll lanes in the median of the corridor and its entrances, the restoration and improvement of the roads and links of the existing highway and the access to the Texas Medical Center.
It is one of major infrastructure works undertaken in the Houston metropolitan area, which, after opening to traffic in 2020, contributes significantly to alleviating congestion problems in one of its most populated areas. On average, the corridor is traveled daily more than 160,000 vehiclesof which about 14,000 choose to use the new toll lanes.
Iridium guides the operation and maintenance activities of the motorway section, including the management of the new lanes through the application of a toll rate that will vary according to the level of congestion. With this transaction, the ACS Group strengthens its position as the main shareholder of the SH-288 toll road, from which it consolidates its leadership in the infrastructure market in the United States, and from which it continues its expansion strategy in the North American concessions market. .
Currently, Iridium has six public-private partnership contracts in the United States, with an operating value of over € 6,000 million. According to the company, this new movement is due to the expansion of its concession business in its commitment to the North American market, where the group has 15 transportation infrastructure assets with an operating value of more than 20,000 million euros.
