Webuild announces the completion of its acquisition of 65% of Astaldi, the most important acquisition conducted under Progetto Italia (Project Italy). It leads to the creation of a new Group specialized in large infrastructure projects in sustainable mobility, hydropower, water and green buildings. The Group will be a leader in the Italian market and rank among the leading players of the sector worldwide with an order backlog of more than €40bn.
In addition to giving the Webuild Group greater scale, the acquisition will bring together an array of innovative technical and engineering expertise, developed on nearly 100 work sites throughout the world. It will expand the Group’s geographic footprint to allow it to act quickly on the investment programmes promoted by national governments for large, strategic infrastructure projects and to contribute in the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, and to the fight against climate change.
The Group to be created by the joining of Italy’s two biggest players in the infrastructure sector will have deeper roots in its home market, where it will play an important role in helping revive the sector in Italy and the world. In 2020, the Group contributed to relaunching strategic projects worth more than €3.6bn, such as the Verona-Padua high-speed railway, the Ionian motorway and the railway hub in Genoa. With the acquisition, it will guarantee that work on strategic projects for clients and communities alike in Italy and abroad that involve Astaldi will continue, safeguarding jobs. These projects include Line 4 of the metro network in Milan, the Naples-Bari high-speed railway and the Hurontario light rail transit near Toronto.
With the acquisition of Astaldi, the new Group will have approximately 70,000 direct and indirect employees at a time when employment is a priority for countries, especially Italy. With a workforce representing more than 100 nationalities, the Group confirms diversity as one of the pillars of its business development.
The operation was completed by means of a capital increase by Astaldi equal to €225M in cash and reserved for Webuild. The proceeds raised will finance Astaldi as an ongoing concern and will also pay off privileged and pre-deductible creditors. Webuild financed its participation with cash raised from a capital increase in November 2019 that was entirely subscribed and paid-in by Salini Costruttori, CDP Equity, Banco BPM, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and other institutional investors.
20201105 I Numeri del Gruppo orizz ENG 1
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