A consortium formed by Antin Infrastructure Partners, ICAMAP, an independent real estate fund manager and Borletti Group, a private investment entity focused on retail, luxury and real estate, ranked first among bidders and has been selected by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS) and Eurostazioni as the winning counterpart for the purchase of a 100% stake in Grandi Stazioni Retail (GSR).
GSR will operate the new long-term concessions providing exclusive rights to the commercial leasing and advertising spaces of the 14 largest Italian railway stations, as well as the concession for the redevelopment and management of two railway stations in the Czech Republic.
The consortium formed by Antin, ICAMAP and Borletti presented a differentiating and robust industrial project for GSR enabling it to deliver the winning bid, for an Enterprise Value of €953m. Antin’s infrastructure expertise was complemented by ICAMAP’s experience in commercial real estate and Borletti Group’s knowledge of travel hubs and Italian retail.
The consortium intends to fully leverage on the high quality of GSR’s assets as well as its outstanding development potential to take the company forward. Italian railway stations benefit from the strong growth trend for retail within high footfall travel hubs, as well as an increase in high speed rail tourists and business customers.
The consortium’s industrial project, in close collaboration with FS Group, aims to complete the transformation of railway stations that began 15 years ago and deliver excellence to customers. The consortium expects to bring world class expertise and skills to the company and is confident it will provide an excellent retail experience to the 790 million visitors using these key Italian railway stations every year.
Foglia Cisternino & Partners advised in respect to tax matters, with a team led by Founding Partner Giuliano Foglia.
