Polish rail for Budimex

Ferrovial is buying one of Poland's leading railway construction companies for almost € 56 million.

Budimex, the Polish subsidiary of Ferrovial Agroman - the head company of Spanish-based Ferrovial's construction division - is buying Przedsiebiorstwo Napraw Infrastruktury (PNI), having reached an agreement with Polish railway infrastructure company PKP.

PNI reportedly ended the first six months of 2011 with a backlog of € 462 million. Ferrovial said the acquisition reinforced Ferrovial's presence in Poland and its commitment to a market with significant growth potential.

The acquisition, which began in October 2010 when the Polish government announced plans to privatise the company, is expected to be closed this October, following approval by the Polish competition authorities. PNI reported revenues in 2010 of € 140 million.

Ferrovial Agroman CEO Alejandro de la Joya, said, "The acquisition of PNI will provide notable synergies to Budimex in terms of seizing business opportunities in Poland, a country with great growth potential."

Ferrovial said there had been significant interest in PNI from Europe's infrastructure industry ever since PKP announced the sale of its subsidiary.

Mr de la Joya said, "I am certain that PNI's expertise in railways, together with Budimex's strength in Poland and the extensive experience of Ferrovial Agroman -which has been working on high-speed railways in Spain since the 1990s - will enable us to provide more innovative, efficient solutions to the Polish market in future tenders."

Among PNI's biggest contracts are refurbishing the Danzig station, rebuilding the Hrubieszów station, and upgrading the railway between Krakow and Rzeszów. The company has also upgraded the railway lines between Sulechów and Luboñ, Bednary and Zgierz, and Goleniów and Kolobrzeg, among others.

PNI has a staff of over 1700 and operates throughout Poland from offices in Warsaw, Katowice, Radom and Stargard Szczecinski.

Budimex reported revenues of € 549 million from construction activities in the first half of 2011, a +48,3% increase compared with the same period last year.

Its backlog amounted to € 1,99 billion, a +15% increase year-on-year. In the first half of 2011, Ferrovial Agroman saw revenues of € 1,99 billion and had a backlog of € 9,9 billion, 67% of which came from outside Spain.