Abertis Approached by Red Electrica for Hipasat Stake

Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA (ABE.MC) said Tuesday that Red Electrica Corp. SA (REE.MC) had shown an interest in buying its 91% stake in satellite operator Hipasat SA, confirming several days of press speculation.

However, Abertis said it hadn't received a firm offer from Red Electrica and the board wasn't considering the approach.

The stake in Hipasat could fetch up to 1.72 billion euros ($2.02 billion) according to an analyst note from Banco de Sabadell SA (SAB.MC) published in September.

In a separate release, the Spanish market regulator said it will extend the review period for Atlantia SpA's (ATL.MI) takeover bid for Abertis. The road operator now has until Oct. 24 to consider the offer.

The bid, which was submitted in May and valued Abertis at around EUR16.3 billion, received regulatory approval on Monday.

Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 10, 2017 04:29 ET (08:29 GMT)