The selling price for the business amounts to approximately €250m (£211m), which has been fully paid in cash on closing. The deal had been agreed at the end of June.
The new entity, which will operate under the name of Spie GmbH, means that Germany is now the Spie’s largest market outside of France. With nearly 6,000 employees, including more than 4,000 in Germany, Service Solutions achieved sales of €700bn in 2012 and has an order book of €1.8bn.
The closing of the Service Solutions sale is in line with a Hochtief strategy announced at the beginning of 2013. The sale follows last week’s completion of the divestment of Hochtief’s stake in Sydney Airport. Hochtief expects closing of the sale of the entire Airports business line to PSP Investments for a total of approximately €1.1bn before the end of the year. Together, the Services and Airports transactions will generate approximately €1.35bn in pre-tax proceeds.
The Group’s aim is to achieve increased cash-based profitability whilst reducing debt. In future, Hochtief will focus on delivery of infrastructure projects, streamlining the organisation and sell non-core businesses. In addition to the services and airports businesses, Hochtief is also working on divesting other non-core businesses or looking for strategic partners.
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