Six Spanish banks have provided EUR 193m of debt to refinance Autopistas del Atlantico Concesionaria Espanola (Audasa), a motorway concessionaire owned by pension funds-backed Itinere Infraestructuras.
The banks included Caixabank, which was the largest lender and also agent of the deal, according to sources familiar with the deal. The other banks were Sabadell, Unicaja, Abanca, Banco de Credito Cooperativo (BCC) and Bilbao-headquartered Kutxabank, the sources added.
Itinere, Audasa and the lenders did not respond to requests for comment.
Clifford Chance acted as lenders’ legal advisor, according to a statement, which added that the debt was to refinance Audasa’s bonds issuance of the same amount. Clifford Chance did not respond to requests for additional comment.
The deal, which closed last month, follows another refinancing completed by the company back in 2020, which involved mostly Spanish banks and was led by MLAs Caixabank, Bankia and Santander.
The latest refinancing is part of several refinancing processes that pension funds-backed Itinere is currently planning or undertaking to improve the financial structure of its subsidiaries, the sources said.
The company owns several concessions across northeastern Spain spanning more than 500km, which include one for the 219km AP-9 Audasa stretch, which lasts until 2048; and one for the 78km AP-66 Aucalsa motorway, until 2050.
Itinere is owned by investors including APG and Corsair Infrastructure, which own the majority of the company and have been in a lengthy dispute with co-shareholder Globalvia to control the Spanish toll-road group. The legal dispute is still ongoing.
