Germany’s Hochtief, the vehicle chosen by Italy’s Atlantia and Spain’s ACS to front, on their behalf, the takeover bid for toll road operator Abertis de Infraestructuras, S.A. has 85% of Abertis’s shares that trade in the Madrid stock exchange, going above the 50% bar set by Spain’s market regulator for a takeover to go through.

It is the first step by the two developer-operators to become partners in Abertis, which operates more than 8,600 km of highways. The move heralds global change to the toll road sector as the former rivals team up in Abertis.