Salini buys up a further 2% of Impregilo
09 March 2012
Privately-owned Italian contractor Salini has acquired a further 2.056% stake in Italy's largest contractor, Impregilo, bringing its total shareholding to 22.12%.
The deal saw Salini buy up an additional 8,276,136 ordinary shares in Impregilo, and marks the third time that the company has upped its stake since the start of the year.
Salini had amassed a 15% stake in Impregilo by January and had grown this to 20.06% by February, stating at the time that its strategic priority was to build a leading European-based construction and concessions group.
"This additional investment confirms Salini's determination to pursue its industrial project to create value for all Impregilo's shareholders," Salini said in February.
However, at the end of January, the company played down speculation that it was considering a possible buyout of Impregilo, stating instead that it was willing to pursue a co-operation agreement with the group.
Investment consortium IGLI owns about 30% of Italian stock exchange-listed Impregilo, while McKinley Capital Management has a stake of over 2% and, aside from Salini's stake, the rest of the stock is free floating.
An amalgamation of Salini and Impregilo would create a Italian group with combined sales of over €3.2 billion - by far the largest contractor in Italy.
Salini Construttori came in at number 74 in the latest CE-100 list of Europe's top contractors, with a turnover of around €1.1 billion. Impregilo was at number 46, with sales of €2.06 billion. Together, they would reach number 29 in the CE-100 list of Europe's top contractors.
