José de Mello, Arcus agree sale of 81.1% of motorway operator Brisa

  • Lusa
  • 28 April 2020

There's already a buyer for 81% of Brisa. It is a consortium formed by Dutch, South Korean and Swiss investors. The business evaluates the motorway concessionaire at 3,000 million euros.

The José de Mello group and London-based Arcus Infrastructure Partners have agreed the sale to international investors of 81.1% of the shares in Brisa, Portugal’s leading motorway operator, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the Portuguese company.

“Grupo José de Mello and Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 1 LP, managed by Arcus European Investment Manager LLP (Arcus), today reached an agreement with a consortium of international investors for the joint sale of two shareholder blocks representing, in total, 81.1% of Brisa’s voting rights, that values the company at over 3 billion euros”, reads the statement.

The consortium buying the stake consists of three institutional investors, according to the release: Netherlands-based asset manager APG, which manages the penson fund of that country’s civil servants and of the education sector; South Korea’s pension fund service NPS; and asset manager SLAM, part of Swiss Life, an insurance group.

Also according to the statement, the José de Mello group is to remain a major shareholder of Brisa, with 17% of the voting rights and an active role in the company’s management, with Vasco de Mello staying on as chairman of the board.

The José de Mello group sees the deal as “a sign of confidence by international investors in the Portuguese economy”, not least since it was reached at a time of economic difficulties. It says that it “represents a unique opportunity for Brisa to strengthen and accelerate its positioning.”

The deal needs authorisation from the relevant authorities to go ahead; the José de Mello Group expects this to happen in the third quarter of this year.

José de Mello is a long-established conglomerate with interests that range from industry to healthcare.

Arcus describes itself as “an independent infrastructure fund manager focused on telecoms, transport and energy in the European market.”