The FCC Group, through its subsidiary Aqualia, has taken control of the Tenerife-based company Entemanser S.A. to become the archipelago's leading private operator in the water sector. A total of 75 million euros will be invested.

This operation comes on the heels of another acquisition, at the beginning of the year, of the company Gansa, which operates in the north of the island of Gran Canaria and the recent contract awarded by the Gran Canaria inter-island council to manage 14 water treatment plants.

Entemanser, which specialises in comprehensive water management, operates in the south of the island of Tenerife. It also manages a contract for the construction and operation of four desalination plants on the Galápagos Islands, awarded by the government of Ecuador in a closely disputed tender process and supervised by the Darwin Ecological Foundation.

Entemanser, which serves a population of more than 230,000 inhabitants, supplies 14 million cubic metres of water annually and has revenues of 30 million euros.

It is a very efficient company for which Aqualia will pay 8.6 times its EBITDA after the cash deduction. In recent months, the leading Spanish companies operating in this sector had expressed an interest in acquiring the company.

The Canary Island water market is in full progression, with annual growth rates in excess of 10%.

Under the collaboration agreement with the former owners, Francisco and Miguel Galindo, they will continue as partners and will participate actively in the company's management, which means that the position of Entemanser in the Canary Islands will be maintained and there will be clear opportunities for growth by undertaking numerous projects together in the future.

FCC controls 33% of the Spanish market working under an indirect management formula (concessions or joint ventures). It operates in more than 700 municipalities across Spain with turnover of nearly 550 million euros, a portfolio of 5,500 million and annual growth of 15%.

This investment is a good example of the business strategy of FCC focused on making investments in Spain and abroad in the three main sectors where it operates: construction, services and cement.

It is in the process of expanding internationally and recently signed a 25-year contract for wastewater treatment in Benghu in the Anhui province of the Peoples Republic of China, which calls for an expected investment of 49 million euros and revenues of 500 million euros.