Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,884.73
    +74.07 (+0.37%)
     
  • AIM

    743.26
    +1.15 (+0.15%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1709
    +0.0015 (+0.13%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2624
    +0.0002 (+0.01%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,839.14
    +657.20 (+1.19%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • DOW

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,311.93
    +143.86 (+0.36%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,205.81
    +1.00 (+0.01%)
     

Allianz consortium buys German motorway service stations group

* Allianz consortium to pay around 3.5 billion euros - sources

* Tank&Rast to strengthen Allianz's infrastructure exposure

* Atlantia (Other OTC: ATASF - news) , CIC, Macquarie trumped - sources (Adds confirmation of deal, details)

FRANKFURT, Aug 3 (Reuters) - A consortium led by insurer Allianz will buy German motorway service station group Tank&Rast for an undisclosed sum, the insurer said on Monday.

Two sources familiar with the deal said the group is paying around 3.5 billion euros ($3.84 billion).

"The acquisition is an important step in our ambition to substantially grow our portfolio of high-quality infrastructure companies and to diversify across sectors and countries," said Christian Fingerle, chief investment officer responsible for infrastructure investments at Allianz Capital Partners.

ADVERTISEMENT

The consortium includes Munich Re's MEAG unit, sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Borealis, part of pension fund OMERS.

It beat offers from groups including Italian motorway operator Atlantia, Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC and Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie , sources familiar with the deal said.

Tank&Rast, which operates 350 petrol stations and 390 service stations, is being sold by buyout group Terra Firma and Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, part of Deutsche Bank (Xetra: 514000 - news) .

Terra Firma bought Tank&Rast for 1.1 billion euros in 2004, before selling 50 percent to Deutsche in 2007.

Banking sources said on Monday banks had lined up 1.45 billion euros of loans to back the acquisition, and that financing totalled around 7.8 times Tank & Rast's EBITDA.

Tank&Rast reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 236 million euros in 2014 from 235 million a year earlier. The company had nearly 800 employees at the end of last year.

Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) advised the Allianz consortium on the deal, while Bank of America (Swiss: BAC.SW - news) and BNP Paribas (Xetra: 887771 - news) led the financing of the transaction.

Terra Firma, run by British financier Guy Hands, was advised by Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan.

($1 = 0.9112 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze, Alexander Hübner and Jonathan Gould; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Susan Thomas)