Novo Banco leaves, Serena enters. Competition gives OK to new Mota-Engil partner at Lineas – Companies

The Competition Authority (AdC) gave the “green light” to entry of the Spaniards from Serena into Lineas, which owns, among others, Lusoponte and the Douro Interior concession, which happens to be like this Mota-Engil’s new partner in the company, replacing Novo Banco.

In a statement, published this Thursday, the regulatory entity informs that the AdC board of directors decided to “adopt a non-opposition position to the concentration operation”, notified on February 20, considering that “is not likely to create significant obstacles to effective competition in the national market or in a substantial part of it“.

The operation specifically consists of the acquisition, by Impact III, a vehicle company based in Luxembourg and used for investment purposes in infrastructure projects owned by Serena, and by Mota-Engil Concessões of joint control of Lineas. The entry of the Madrid group Serena into Lineas – which also marks their debut in Portugal – happens through the sale of the position that Novo Banco held in the companyas Negócios reported, and it comes like this put an end to a historic partnership which was created with BES and which for years linked the bank to the construction company Mota-Engil in road concession projects.

Mota-Engil, through Mota-Engil Concessões, entered into a partnership with ES Concessões for the road concessions market under which the construction company owned 60% of the capital and BES owned 40%. With the bank’s resolution in 2014, the position was transferred to Novo Banco.