Alberta Fund to Buy Skanska's 50% Stake in Chile Highway for $875 Million

Alberta Investment Management Corp. agreed to buy a 50 percent stake in a Chilean highway from Skanska AB, the Nordic region’s biggest builder, for about 6 billion kronor ($875 million).

The investment management firm that oversees funds for Canada’s Alberta province is buying Skanska’s stake in the company that owns the Autopista Central highway in Santiago, generating a gain after tax of about 5 billion kronor, the Swedish company said in a statement.

“This opens up the possibility of a higher dividend to the shareholders," Peter Gimbe, Skanska’s spokesman, said by phone. "That will be up to the board to decide next year.”

Autopista Central, a 61-kilometer (38-mile), six-lane road that runs through Santiago, is Skanska’s most valuable asset, spokesman Gimbe said. Skanska had invested 1.2 billion kronor in the road, Gimbe said in February after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake damaged pedestrian overpasses and the road’s administrative base. Skanska said then it assessed the damage as minor and decided to proceed with its planned sale.

“This deal gives a very good result for Skanska and our shareholders,” Chief Executive Officer Johan Karlstrom said in the statement. “The investment in Autopista Central is Skanska’s most successful ever."

Spanish toll-road operator Abertis Infraestructuras SA and Banco Santander SA own the rest of Autopista Central.

Skanska’s shares rose as much as 4.4 percent and traded up 3.7 percent at 135.8 kronor as of 9:45 a.m. in Stockholm.

The agreement is conditioned upon receiving approval within nine months from the bond guarantor and necessary amendments to the financing agreements, the Stockholm-based builder said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ola Kinnander in stockholm at okinnander@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net.

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