Italian public operator Trenitalia has increased its stake in Intermodalidad de Levante, SA (ILSA), the company behind iryo, by 6%. With this acquisition, it reaches 51% of the ownership of the only Spanish high-speed operator with private capital.
The deal was finalised on July 3rd but was made public yesterday by Trenitalia’s parent company, Ferrovie dello Stato. According to its quarterly accounts, the operator has paid 15 million to Operador Ferroviario de Levante (OFL), Air Nostrum’s shareholders who have reduced their stake to 25%.
The remaining 24% of the operator is owned by infrastructure concessionaire Globalvia, which bought this stake from OFL in September 2022 for 39.1 million euros.
With this move, Trenitalia takes control of the company as part of its international expansion strategy. As elEconomista.es reports, the possibility of Trenitalia increasing its stake to more than 50% has existed since it became a partner in ILSA in 2019.
Thus, with the help of Spanish investors, the Italian public operator can enter the Spanish market with a safe bet while OFL makes a return on its investment.
When Globalvia acquired its stake in iryo, the company was valued at 162.9 million euros. Now, with the new acquisition of Trenitalia, the value has increased to 250 million euros, a 53% growth in just two years.
What happens in the future is unwritten, but it would not be surprising to see Trenitalia expand its stake in the Spanish operator.
