The regional Catalonian Supreme Court (TSJC) dismissed on Wednesday the appeal of the Catalonian Government and the consortium led by Acciona against the decision of a contracting body of Catalonia which considered Acciona's bid illegal for Ter-Llobregat water management concession.

Acciona has announced in a release to the Spanish stock exchange that it plans to appeal the decision to the Spanish Supreme Court and therefore it will continue operating the concession awarded in November 2012.

The winning consortium was led by Acciona Agua (39%) and the Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual (39%) and includes several minority stake companies representing private investors.

The other team was composed of Agbar (Suez), First State Investments (Australia), Caisse de Dépôt (Canada), and the Spanish firms, Aigües de Terrassa, Aigües de Sabadell (Cassa), Copisa, Acsa and Calaf.

The team led by Agbar argued the following deficiencies when the Catalonian Government selected Acciona's bid:

• there was "lack of transparency" of the Department of Planning, responsible for the competition, because Agbar was denied the possibility of examining Acciona's bid.
• the government had private meeting with Acciona's group during the tender process.
• the presence of Ferran Rodés on the Board of Directors of Acciona, despite being the chairman of the Advisory Council for Sustainable Development of the Catalonian Government.

A new decision will have to be awaited until the Spanish Supreme Court decides whether the team led by Acciona or the team led by Agbar will finally execute the concession agreement.