Spanish Highway Operator Mulls $424 Million Debt Sale for Puerto Rico Roads.

DEBT; ROADS; SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant; TOLL roads; AUTOMOTIVE transportation

Spanish highway operator Abertis is considering borrowing $424 million to fund capital projects for four toll roads in Puerto Rico. The bond sale was approved by the Public Finance Authority, and the proceeds would be loaned to Puerto Rico Toll Roads, a subsidiary of Abertis. The financing options are still being evaluated, and the company is considering private activity bonds. Abertis previously agreed to pay $2.85 billion to operate and maintain four highways in Puerto Rico for 40 years. The toll roads managed by Abertis have shown resilience in the face of economic downturns and natural disasters, and traffic has been recovering since the pandemic. Moody's has upgraded the senior taxable notes issued by Metropistas, a subsidiary of Abertis, to investment-grade status due to traffic recovery and the essential service provided by the toll roads. [Extracted from the article]

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