Colas completes sale of stake in Cofiroute
On Friday 31 January 2014, Colas sold its 16.67% stake in the share capital of Cofiroute to VINCI Autoroutes pursuant to an agreement announced on 20 December 2013.
Cofiroute is a highway concession company which operates a total of 1,100 km of highways in western France as well as the Duplex A86 tunnel near Paris. The company is now wholly-owned by VINCI Autoroutes.
The transaction is said to be priced between a minimum of €780 million and a maximum of €800 million, subject to certain operational assumptions being realised over the 2014-2015 period.
The deal, which will make Vinci the sole shareholder in Cofiroute, had a long history as Bouygues and Colas had been looking to exit Cofiroute for several years but had been tough with pricing.
Colas CEO Herve Le Bouc said the offer was attractive given the business had reached maturity.
Cofiroute will no longer bring Colas a dividend worth some €50 million a year. However, sources indicated that the sale should generate up to €380 million in net proceeds.
The sale price of the Cofiroute stake represents 12.4 times 2012 earnings before interest and tax.
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