“You build highways.” With this phrase, ACS CEO Juan Santamaría illustrated this week the reaction of executives from major tech companies when the infrastructure group approached them to inform them of its capacity to build data centers, battery factories, or semiconductor production plants. The disbelief with which Silicon Valley received ACS contrasts with the current situation, in which the company is in a position to participate in some of the most complex projects of the moment. This was one of Santamaría’s own messages this week at a conference organized in Madrid by the La Caixa Foundation.
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Just a few days earlier, ACS took advantage of its good moment in the stock market, with increases close to 115% in one year, to raise funds in the market to finance its strategic plan, in which it plans to invest more than 5.5 billion euros. This is a practice that companies like Iberdrola or Merlin have also successfully tried to grow without incurring debt. ACS itself knows this formula well and has in turn injected funds into the highway concessionaire Abertis through a capital increase.
A total of 1.775 billion euros are the funds obtained by ACS with the operation, which includes a capital increase and the sale of some shares in the group through derivatives
The funds obtained amount to around 1.775 billion euros, of which about 670 million come from a capital increase equivalent to 2%, which was subscribed by the main shareholders, Florentino Pérez and Criteria. The rest corresponds to the sale on the market through an accelerated placement of some company derivatives managed by Société Générale.
Criteria, the La Caixa holding company, has been the investor that contributed the most capital, with around 510 million euros, which has allowed it to increase its stake in ACS from 9.36% to 10.65% and strengthen itself as the second largest shareholder. Its president, Isidre Fainé, is present on the construction group’s board of directors and serves as vice president. ACS and La Caixa have been allies since 2001, when they jointly founded Abertis.
The value of ACS’s project portfolio is 93 billion euros, with a growing weight of technology
The capital increase was also subscribed by the largest shareholder, Florentino Pérez, through his company Rosán. Like Criteria, he not only avoids dilution of his stake but, on the contrary, increases his shareholding. He has gone from 14.58% to 14.72%.
The capital increase was closed with the sale of the new shares at 125 euros per share, with a discount of about 5% on the market price. Market sources say there was a high oversubscription, which is why the company already trades on the stock market above this reference. Bank of America, Société Générale, and CaixaBank were the placing banks.
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Analysts believe the capital increase concentrates risk in one division, but that it is correct
The money raised will go to everything related to digital infrastructure and technology. Data centers, chip plants, and other facilities around AI have a place in regions such as the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. ACS wants to boost integrated engineering and modular construction to continue being part of the technological forefront.
The company has taken advantage of its good moment in the stock market to finance itself in the market
“Although the operation focuses on the high concentration of risk in a single division, the strategy seems totally correct to us,” say XTB. They point out that the data center business offers “a very attractive market opportunity, insatiable demand, and excellent visibility to generate consistent cash flows.”
For Renta4, the logic of the operation is to accelerate a business like digital infrastructure without harming its balance sheet structure. It is about “taking advantage of the growing opportunities that are occurring in this segment globally,” their analysts indicate. The U.S. market, with major tech companies dominating stock investment, has become one of the best examples of this trend.
During the recent general shareholders’ meeting, Florentino Pérez estimated the group’s portfolio value at 93 billion euros, in which technological assets are gaining prominence. “It is the best proof of our competitive position and the growth visibility we have in an environment where next-generation infrastructure will be one of the major investment drivers in the world,” he said. ACS earned 950 million euros last year after generating around 50 billion euros in revenue.
A deployment with allies like Meta
Among the specific data center projects ACS is working on is the construction of the largest campus of this type in Louisiana, United States, with a capacity of up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) and more than 10 billion dollars of investment. It has Meta as a client, which serves as a platform for new developments.
The group has also been awarded the construction of a data center in Ohio for Vantage for 2 billion dollars and another in Pennsylvania for CoreWeave. It also develops projects in Malaysia, Australia, and Spain. It does so through its different subsidiaries, including the American Tuner, the German Hochtief, and the Australian Cimic, as well as the Spanish Dragados.
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