ACS Group has reached an agreement through its subsidiary IRIDIUM, for the acquisition of a 44.65% stake in the SH-288 toll lane concession in Houston, United States for nearly €900 million. With this increase, acquired from the infrastructure funds InfraRed Capital Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners and Star America, the Spanish company now holds 66.27% of the capital invested in the project and takes control of the concession.

The closing of the transaction is subject to obtaining the pertinent administrative approvals, including the approval of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as well as the institutions financing the project, including the US Department of Transportation, which is participating through its TIFIA financing program.

The duration of this concession was awarded for 52 years in 2015 by the Texas Department of Transportation to the consortium led by IRIDIUM, a consortium in which ACS Group construction companies also participate.

This contract included the financing, design, construction and operation of four new toll lanes in the median of the corridor and its accesses, the rehabilitation and improvement of the roadways and interchanges of the existing highway, and the access to the hospital complex known as the Texas Medical Center. This is one of the most important infrastructure projects undertaken in the Houston metropolitan area, which, after opening to traffic in 2020, will contribute significantly to alleviating congestion problems in one of its most populated areas. On average, the corridor is traveled daily by more than 160,000 vehicles, of which approximately 14,000 choose to use the new toll lanes. 

IRIDIUM leads the operation and maintenance tasks of the highway section, including the management of the new lanes through the application of a toll rate that will vary according to the level of congestion. Toll collection is carried out through a Free Flow electronic toll collection system, and for the operation of the lanes the latest technology in intelligent highway management is used.

ACS Group in the United States market 

With this transaction, the ACS Group strengthens its position as controlling shareholder of the SH-288 toll lane, from which it consolidates its leadership in the infrastructure market in the United States, and from which it advances in its expansion strategy in the North American concessions market.

IRIDIUM currently has six concession contracts in the United States, with a management value of over 6 billion euros.

Likewise, the ACS Group reaffirms its commitment to continue expanding its concessions business and its commitment to the North American market, where the group already has more than 15 transport infrastructure assets with a management value of more than 20 billion euros.