Madrid, 23 years old (European press)
Globalvia has completed the acquisition of 24% of the capital of Iryo from Air Nostrum two months before the new rail operator starts operating its high-speed trains between Madrid and Barcelona and soon also to Levante and Andalusia.
The mobility infrastructure company announced the closure of the operation after obtaining all the administrative licenses it required to formalize its entry into the capital of Iryo without disclosing the economic figure, although analysts estimated it at €200 million when the purchase agreement was disclosed.
To date, the company’s stake has been 55% controlled by Air Nostrum and 45% by Trenitalia, the Italian public operator 100% controlled by that country’s Ministry of Economy. However, the 55% package will now be split into 31% for Air Nostrum and another 24% for Globalvía, with the Italian state taking the majority position.
Thus, after the process of railway liberalization, Renfe, with 100% Spanish public capital, emerged from the competitors of the two largest shareholders being the French and Italian states. On the one hand is Ouigo, from the French public company SNCF, and on the other hand is Iryo.
In addition, Globalvía, which was created in 2007 to consolidate all the franchise assets of the FCC and Caja Madrid under one group, came under the control of three pension funds from Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 2016.
Globalvía has already tried to grab some avenues in the liberalization process that Adif opened in 2019. It has been associated with Moventia but has never made it any way. The Andalusian company Eco Rail and the group formed by Talgo, Globalia and Trilantic Fund also competed.
“Being part of the largest Spanish private railway operator reinforces our commitment to new forms of mobility in the countries in which we operate. It provides us with a more panoramic view of the management of transportation infrastructure, and added value to the advancement and innovation in each of them,” said Globalvia CEO, Javier Perez- Fortia, after the outbreak of the epidemic, high-speed rail will be an essential component of sustainable mobility, as we hope to move forward with our partners on a long-term mission.
