Orrick Paris Team Advises Crédit Agricole Assurances and AXA IM - Real Assets on Acquisition of 42 Percent Stake in France’s A63 Toll Road

Orrick has advised Crédit Agricole Assurances and AXA IM - Real Assets in their joint acquisition of a 42 percent stake in Atlandes, the concession holder of France’s A63 motorway, from InfraRed Capital Partners. The remaining 58 percent of Atlandes is held by minority industrial and financial investors. This transaction is the first partnership between these two institutional investors and is the first direct investment into the infrastructure sector by AXA’s infrastructure equity team.

Atlandes operates a 104-kilometer section of the A63 motorway that connects Bordeaux to the Spanish border, with two toll points along the route. The strategic asset, which has been in operation since 2011, links Northern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula and is traveled by 30,000 vehicles daily.

The Orrick team advising on the transaction was led by partner Patrick Tardivy, with assistance by Lara Kerouedan on M&A; Jean-Luc Champy, Geoffroy Berthon and Janina Dahmouh on public law; Amaury de Feydeau and Tristan Dupuy-Urisari on finance; and Michel Roseau on competition.