Brisa Receives Binding Bids as Road Traffic Slumps
Brisa Receives Binding Bids as Road Traffic Slumps
(Bloomberg) -- Several infrastructure investors have made binding bids for Portuguese toll road operator Brisa, even as the coronavirus lockdown triggers a slump in traffic, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Spanish toll-road operators Abertis Infraestructuras SA and Globalvia are among the suitors that submitted bids by this week’s deadline, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Dutch asset manager APG Groep NV and a consortium led by government-backed China State Construction Engineering Corp. have also been competing for a stake in the business, the people said.
Brisa’s owners, Arcus Infrastructure Partners and Portugal’s family-run Jose de Mello Group, are considering selling an 80% stake in Brisa and have been seeking about 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) for the holding, Bloomberg News has reported. The recent drop in traffic due to the coronavirus outbreak could impact the valuation of any transaction, the people said.
Brisa is Portugal’s biggest toll-road operator and oversees 1,628 kilometers (1,012 miles) of roads in the country, including a network of 17 motorways. Its main operating unit, Brisa Concessao Rodoviaria, notified the Portuguese government Thursday of the occurrence of a “force majeure” event due to the coronavirus pandemic and said it’s assessing the impact of measures taken by the authorities to address it.
No final decisions have been made, and Brisa’s owners could decide to postpone or cancel the sale if they aren’t happy with the bids, the people said.
A representative for Mello declined to comment. Representatives for Arcus, Abertis, Globalvia, APG and China State Construction didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday lowered its outlook on Brisa Concessao Rodoviaria’s credit rating to “stable,” from “positive,” citing the likely impact of the Portuguese government’s travel restrictions on the company’s profitability and cash flow generation.
“Notwithstanding the significantly reduced cash flow over at least the next few weeks, BCR remains an important infrastructure provider in Portugal, with a potential for recovery once the coronavirus outbreak and its effects have been contained,” Moody’s said in a statement.
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