More traffic on highways a week after tolls lifted
Major gridlock last Sunday as holiday goers returned home, with officials describing it as "exceptional"
toll
Most highway tolls lifted: what you need to know
Which roads are now free, how much money will drivers save, and who will pay for the highways
Spain plans to turn highways into toll roads in 2024
Madrid pledge in exchange for EU funds comes as Catalonia prepares to reduce number of tolls
Spain’s Covid-19 death toll revised up by 1,177 to 28,313
Figure still insufficient to account for stark rise in gross mortality from last year
Digging at Toll de Moià caves resumes after year halted due to direct rule
Archaeologists return to cave system in Central Catalonia hoping to find more remains of cave bears and Neanderthals
Pro-independence activists gear up for Spanish government visit
Groups of protesters cut Catalonia's main highway at the weekend with more action expected for December 21 meeting
At least 13 dead and 80 injured in Barcelona terrorist attack
Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident
Italian Atlantia launches €16.3bn bid to buy Abertis
Atlantia announced its decision on Monday to launch a tender offer on the entire share capital of Catalan company Abertis. A deal between both companies would create the largest toll road operator in Europe and one of the leading ones in the world. Italy’s Atlantia offer would pay €16.50 a share and also includes another option in case shareholders decide to own stakes in the combined group: in that case, the exchange ratio would be set at 0.697 shares of Atlantia for each Abertis share tendered up to a maximum of 23.2% of the total offer. “We have worked to design an offer that is friendly and attractive for all shareholders, stakeholders, and the management of both companies,” said the Atlantia’s CEO, Giovanni Castellucci.
Abertis invests €125 million in A4 Holding and now controls 85% of its Italian subsidiary
The Catalan company Abertis reached an agreement with the minority shareholders of its Italian subsidary, A4 Holdings, to buy an additional 22.52% of the business' assets. The group will pay a total amount of €125 million, €89 million by the end of July, 2017 and the final €36 million by the end of January, 2018. As a result of the transaction, Abertis will now control 85.36% of A4 Holding, reinforcing its growth strategy and, in particular, its business in Italy, an attractive market for the group. The company said in a press release that the deal “demonstrates Abertis' ability to grow internationally in an attractive way while maintaining its financial discipline”. The purchase also fits with its management strategy which, according to the company, “allows investments in assets it knows well and where it faces no competition, reducing its operational risk profile”.
Death toll in wildfires in Catalonia rises to four
The death toll of the devastating wildfires in the Alt Empordà region, in north-east Catalonia, has risen to four this Monday, after a 64 year-old Frenchman died in hospital from his burns. He suffered 80% burns to his body. A father and daughter died on Sunday after jumping off a cliff to escape the flames in Portbou. A third man died of a heart attack in the small town of Llers. Eight injured people were admitted in hospitals in Catalonia. Six of them are in a critical condition, according to the Health Department. In total, forty-seven people have been treated for injures during the fires, although only eight remain in hospital.