FCC has reached an agreement to sell its 50% stake in Proactiva Medio Ambiente to French multinational Veolia Environnement for 150 million euro. As a result, Veolia will own 100% of Proactiva, an environmental services provider in Latin America. This deal will provide FCC with capital gains of 81 million euro and advances its divestment plan.

The agreement with Veolia Environnement represents major progress under FCC's recently-announced Strategic Plan, which includes a series of divestments (including Proactiva) with a view to reducing Group debt by 2.2 billion euro. BBVA acted as FCC's financial adviser in this transaction.

According to Juan Béjar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of FCC, "The sale of our 50% stake in Proactiva represents the first major step towards the divestment targets set out in the Strategic Plan, and will enable us to focus on the businesses that provide the most value to the Group".

Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO of Veolia Environnement: "Our larger stake in Proactiva is perfectly aligned with our strategy: to make the Group a leader in addressing large-scale environmental problems in growth markets. As the sole shareholder of Proactiva, Veolia Environnement strengthens its position in industrial and municipal markets in Latin America, leveraging its global capacities, its existing footprint and references in the region, and Proactiva's network and team".

Proactiva, created in 1999, was formerly a 50:50 joint venture between Veolia Environnement and FCC. It operates in eight countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela), serves more than 42 million customers and employs a staff of around 12,000.

Proactiva provides water management services in Guayaquil and Lima, and waste management services in Buenos Aires, Caracas, São Paulo and Santiago de Chile.

In 2012, the company obtained 540 million euro in revenues and 95 million euro in EBITDA (63.7 excluding minority interests), ending the year with net interest-bearing debt of 118 million euro. Net profit amounted to 13.9 million euro, of which 6.95 corresponded to FCC, which carried its 50% stake by the equity method.