Hochtief AG to Discuss Offer for Spain's Abertis -Report

Hochtief AG's (HOT.XE) supervisory board may discuss an offer to buy Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE.MC) on Wednesday, German newspaper Rheinische Post reported Tuesday, citing supervisory board circles.

A spokesperson for Hochtief majority shareholder Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (ACS.MC), or ACS, declined to comment. ACS is headed by Hochtief Chief Executive Officer Marcelino Fernandes Verdes. According to the Rheinische Post, ACS could approach Abertis via Hochtief.

In July, ACS confirmed reports that it was considering a takeover of Abertis, following Italian infrastructure group Atlantia SpA's bid for the Spanish company in May.

Atlantia's cash-and-share offer for Barcelona-based Abertis values the company at 16.3 billion euros ($17.8 billion) and could create the world's biggest toll-road operator. The timeframe of the offer is six months.

Abertis' single-largest investor is Spain's Criteria Caixa SAU, which owns 22.3% of the infrastructure company. In 2010, ACS sold its 25.8% stake in Abertis, 15.6% of which was acquired by private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners in a transaction valued at EUR1.72 billion.

Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 19, 2017 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)