Interparking and Saba join forces to strengthen their position in the urban mobility sector
16/10/2024
Brussels/Madrid/Amsterdam, 16 October 2024 - AG – through its property subsidiary AG Real Estate – and APG have reached an agreement with CriteriaCaixa to integrate Saba Infraestructuras into Interparking. Saba is a Spanish based player in the public car park sector, with a presence in 9 countries. The three partners will all become shareholders in Interparking Group, which will remain headquartered in Brussels. Together, they will further contribute to the development of tomorrow’s urban mobility and further expand the network of electrical charging solutions for electric vehicles.
Interparking and Saba joining forces will allow Interparking Group to capitalise on the strengths and synergies of both companies and create a pan-European player in mobility solutions with a long-term vision. Saba is a renowned player in the parking sector and the new combination will be ideally placed to seize growth opportunities arising from new trends in urban mobility as well as expanding the opportunities to reduce urban pollution.
In the newly combined entity, AG will remain the majority and controlling shareholder, alongside APG and CriteriaCaixa. As part of the transaction, AG and APG have agreed to invest additional capital in the combined entity to support future growth. The parties involved expect to create a more robust and integrated platform that will be able to offer state-of-the-art as well as more durable urban mobility solutions and continue to expand the existing electric charging network to further improve the customer experience.
After the integration, the Interparking Group will operate more than 2,000 car parks, totalling nearly 800,000 parking spaces in 16 European countries, as well as nearly 8,000 electric charging points. The new group will retain Interparking and Saba as strong local commercial brands
Roland Cracco, CEO of Interparking: “By this operation, Interparking and Saba will be joining forces to propose to their upstream and downstream clients a strong and high- quality European car park platform with a long-term vision that is fully fit to handle with success the mobility, intermodality and environmental challenges of the future.”
Heidi Delobelle, CEO of AG: "AG manages and invests the premium income it receives from its policyholders with due diligence, entailing a diversified investment strategy, with a focus on long-term and stable performance. Based on this strategy, strengthening Interparking's position as a European parking facilities operator is a very logical step."
Serge Fautré, CEO of AG Real Estate and Chairman of Interparking: “Our Group became the majority shareholder of Interparking 22 years ago. We have continuously supported the development of the company alongside the family founders and more recently APG Asset Management. This deal confirms our confidence in the company, its management, and the industry. Interparking Group will further develop as a true mobility actor in the years to come sensitive to its clients, the municipalities in which it operates as well as the societal challenges it faces.”
Arjan Reinders, Head of Infrastructure Europe at APG: “We are excited to further strengthen our commitment to Interparking with the combination of Interparking and Saba to create a top-tier European parking and mobility platform. We see the combination of Interparking and Saba as key to future-proofing our assets by investing in innovative technologies that will shape the future of urban mobility, ensuring that our portfolio continues to evolve with the changing needs of cities and communities. As we grow this business, we remain focused on ensuring our assets contribute both to financial success and to creating a better world for future generations.”
Isidro Fainé, Chairman of CriteriaCaixa: “With this deal, Saba will be integrated into a Pan-European player in car park management, with the capacity to compete globally and with a long-term industrial project. The agreement also allows CriteriaCaixa to boost the strengthening of the European industry in a strategic sector for the economy such as infrastructure management for mobility.”
Ángel Simón, CEO of CriteriaCaixa: “We are very pleased to have reached this agreement, which is fully aligned with CriteriaCaixa’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, focused on value creation through reinforcing the commitment to companies in strategic industries and promoting future industrial development through investment in new sectors and projects.”
The closing of this transaction is subject to customary conditions including the approval of the European competition authorities.
Interparking, AG Group and APG have been advised by BNP Paribas and Jefferies as financial co-advisers and Linklaters and Freshfields as legal advisers. Interparking was also advised by GBS Group. CriteriaCaixa and Saba have been advised by Bank of America as financial adviser and Uria Menendez as legal adviser.
