1950–2000: Foundation and consolidation
Founded in 1950 as Autostrade,[6] when the company Concessioni e Autostrade S.p.A. was created, it aimed to give a significant contribution, cooperating with other Groups, to the post-war reconstruction of Italy.
By the first agreement between ANAS signed in 1956, the companies were committed in co-financing, building and managing the Autostrada Del Sole, between Milan and Naples, inaugurated in 1964.[7] Between 1962 and 1968, the company was granted the concession for the construction and operation of other motorways. In 1982 it was acquired by Italstat and in 1987 Autostrade Concessioni e Costruzioni S.p.A. was listed on Borsa Valori of Milan.
In 1999, the Autostrade company was privatized.[8] The consortium led by Schemaventotto S.p.A. (Edition of Benetton Group 60%, Fondazione CRT with 13.33%, Acesa Italia with 12.83%, Assicurazioni Generali and Unicredito Italiano both at 6.67% and Brisa International SGPS SA with 0.50%) and another one pulled by the Australian bank Macquarie, who retreated at last, were the other groups in the line.
With the 30% of the capital, Schemaventotto S.p.A. takes over the IRI Group, which was the reference shareholder. They did the only binding purchase offer for the share package paying IRI €5.05 billion; the remaining 56% of the shareholding held by IRI was intended to the stock market by a public sale offer which led to obtain 8.75 billion lire, for a total sum for IRI of 13,800 billion lire.
In January 2003 Newco28 made a tender offer, through a leveraged buyout operation: they found the liquidity necessary for the acquisition using the system credit and, consequently, the debt was transferred from Newco28 to Autostrade, following a merger by incorporation.
2003 was marked by a massive reorganisation of the group, the concession activities were separated from non-motorway activities and Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A., a subsidiary of Autostrade (then Atlantia S.p.A.), was established.
2000–2021: Company renamed Atlantia S.p.A.
During 2005, a process of geographical diversification began with the acquisition of the management of approximately 2000 km of toll motorways in Brazil, Chile, India, and Poland.[9] In 2007, the board of directors approved the change of name into Atlantia S.p.A.[10]
In 2013, the merger by incorporation of Gemina S.p.A.,[11][12] the majority shareholder of ADR (Aeroporti di Roma) into Atlantia, was concluded, with the consequent aggregation of a second core business in addition to the motorway concessions. Atlantia's acquisition of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, the company that controls the airports of Nice, Cannes-Mandelieu and Saint Tropez, consolidated the Group's presence in the airport sector.[13]
2022: Voluntary Public Tender Offer and Delisting
At the beginning of April 2022, Spanish financier Florentino Perez (shareholder of 50% minus one share in Atlantia's majority-owned company Abertis) together with the two private equity funds Global Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, considered launching a takeover bid (OPA) for Atlantia. In order to preserve the group's integrity and Italian identity, the Benetton family, in alliance with the U.S. fund Blackstone Inc, announced a defensive takeover bid in mid-April, so as to secure the group from possible financial counteroffensives, such as the one promoted by Perez.
The 19 billion takeover bid for Atlantia at 23 euros per share was launched on 10 October 2022. The offer was launched by Schema Alfa, a special purpose vehicle controlled by Schemaquarantadue S.p.A., which is 65% owned by the holding company Edizione (chaired by Alessandro Benetton) and 35% owned by the American private equity fund Blackstone.
The takeover bid was launched on Atlantia's total shares, that is, 66.90% of its capital, with the exception of the 33.10% stake held by Edizione. The buy-out ended in November 2022, with Schema Alfa holding 95.933% of Atlantia, excluding treasury shares.[22]
