EQT Infrastructure and Spanish insurance company Mutua Madrileña merge car park operators

  • Creates one of the leading private off-street car park operators in Spain with revenues of almost EUR 30 million
  • Strong platform to promote operational excellence and further participate in the consolidation of the highly fragmented Spanish car park sector
  • EQT Infrastructure to retain a majority position in the combined entity

EQT Infrastructure Limited (“EQT Infrastructure”) and Mutua Madrileña have agreed to merge their car park operators Parkia and MutuaPark.

The merger creates the largest pure off-street car park operator in Spain and one of the leading private off-street car park operators. The combined entity will have 54 car parks, an average remaining concession life of 32 years and almost EUR 30 million of revenues. The portfolio of car parks is well diversified by sector and geographically spread throughout Spain with several regional clusters, for example in or around Madrid, Barcelona, Galicia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands.

In addition to realizing synergies of best practices and operational excellence across the car park portfolio, the shareholders plan to further participate in the consolidation of the highly fragmented Spanish car park sector.

Mutua Madrileña will transfer its car parks to Parkia, with EQT Infrastructure retaining 66.8% and Mutua Madrileña receiving 33.2% of the combined entity. EQT Infrastructure acquired Parkia in 2011, which was EQT’s first investment in Spain, through a carve-out from Acciona S.A. and has developed the business into an efficient and well regarded car park operator with 31 car parks and around EUR 20 million in revenues. Mutua Madrileña is one of the leading insurance companies in Spain and acquired MutuaPark in 2010. MutuaPark operates 23 car parks with around EUR 9 million in revenues.

Parkia’s Chairman Fernando Conte and CEO Jesús Lopez Hidalgo will continue in their current roles in the combined entity.

“We see strong industrial logic in this merger and the combined entity will have a leading position in the Spanish car park sector. I am looking forward to develop this platform and further grow the business together with management and our industrial board. Our two shareholders are committed to support the efforts,” says Fernando Conte, Chairman of Parkia and designated Chairman of the combined entity.

Javier Mira, General Manager of Mutua Madrileña, says: “This merger underscores Mutua Madrileña´s strategy of diversification in property and financial investments. We believe the partnership with EQT Infrastructure creates a strong car park platform, meeting Mutua Madrileña´s investment criteria of long term, attractive yields and moderate risk.”

The transaction is subject to anti-trust approval and expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Contacts:

Matthias Fackler, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, +49 89 25 54 99 520

Johan Hähnel, EQT Infrastructure Spokesperson, +46 706 05 63 34

About EQT
EQT is the leading private equity group in Northern Europe, with portfolio companies in Northern and Eastern Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 25 billion and over 500,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

EQT Infrastructure is a EUR 1.2 billion fund, launched 2008, investing in medium-sized infrastructure businesses in the Nordic region, parts of Continental Europe, and North America. Investment targets are regulated infrastructure, concession-based infrastructure, market-based infrastructure and infrastructure-related services.

More information can be found on www.eqt.se

About Parkia
Parkia, formerly Acciona Aparcamientos, is one of the leading private car park operators in Spain and Andorra. Parkia operates 30 off-street car parks, 25 in Spain and 5 in Andorra, with almost 17,000 parking spaces. In addition, Parkia operates 1 on-street car park in Andorra. Parkia operates under concession agreements with local municipalities and with an average remaining life of approximately 30 years.

More information can be found on www.parkia.es

About Mutua Madrileña
Mutua Madrileña is the second largest insurance group in the non-life and the largest in the health segment in Spain. It has more than 9.2 million clients divided among its different insurance areas: car, health, life, accidents, etc.

Mutua Madrileña, which was established more than 80 years ago, has the highest solvency ratio in the Spanish insurance market. Its activities focus primarily on insurance, but it is also active in real estate and asset management. Mutua Madrileña generated revenues of EUR 3,868 million and posted net income of more than EUR 196 million in 2013.

More information can be found on www.grupomutua.es

About MutuaPark
MutuaPark operates 23 off-street car parks in Spain with around 8,000 parking spaces. Mutua Madrileña acquired it in 2010 from FCC Group. Car parks are a mix of property and concession agreements with municipalities in Spain and with an average remaining life of approximately 35 years.

More information can be found on www.mutuapark.es

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