Impregilo sells final Ecorodovias stake

Impregilo has finalised the divestment of its stake in Brazilian toll road operator Ecorodovias. It has agreed to sell its last remaining 6.5% share holding to Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual. Total proceeds from the sale of its 29.24% stake in the company came to BRL 2.96 billion (US$ 1.46 billion).

The divestment is part of a new 2013 – 2015 strategic plan for the company, which was approved by its board in December. This involves a return to the core business of contracting and the disposal of non-core assets like Ecorodovias.

The company says it plans to increase its geographic footprint, and that this will see its annual revenues grow some +10% per year to € 3.3 billion (US$ 4.3 billion) by 2015. Over the same period, Impregilo says it expects its order backlog to grow to € 12.5 billion (US$ 16.3 billion).

New markets being targeted for expansion are said to include US, Brazil, Turkey, Canada and Australia and in the Middle East, and the company sees potential in core sectors such as railways, roads, hydroelectric power and metro systems. Impregilo says it will target large projects – defined as being worth € 500 million (US$ 650 million) or more – worldwide.

It says the cash raised by its divestment plan - an estimated € 1.5 billion (US$ 1.95 billion) - will be returned to shareholders and used for strategic investments, and that it is targeting a return on investment of 14%