Sydney-based team leads as company severs ties with previous owner and expands interests in Europe
A King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) team has advised an Australian toll-roads giant as it begins a new chapter with help from a $1.35bn raising.
KWM advised Atlas Arteria, one of the world’s largest developers and operators of toll roads, on its fully underwritten equity raising. The firm also assisted in agreements to acquire an increased interest in Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone (APRR), Europe’s fourth-largest motorway group.
APRR has a network of 2,318km of toll roads in the east of France, including ADELAC, the concessionaire of a stretch of motorway between France and Geneva. Atlas Arteria is acquiring an additional 6.14% stake in APRR, the largest existing business in its portfolio.
The acquisition will be funded by the raising, which is composed of a $452m institutional placement and a four for twenty-one accelerated pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer that is expected to raise $898m, KWM said.
Atlas Arteria’s expansion of its APRR interest comes as it severs ties with Macquarie Group, its former owner. It is paying $100m to complete the separation.
Sydney-based dealmakers advised on the deal. The KWM team was headed by partner Henrik Moritz, who was assisted by special counsel Amanda Isouard, senior associates Shabarika Ajitkumar, Matthew Ward, and Max Allan, and solicitors Felicity Bell, Angus Moore, and Daniel Ayad.
“The raising and acquisition undertaken by Atlas Arteria fit in with the group’s broader strategic objectives in which they independently manage their investments and look to continued future growth,” Moritz said.
He said that the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, is a “significant achievement” for Atlas Arteria.
