24 January 2011 - Gide Loyrette Nouel Paris advises on the A63 motorway concession:

The decree approving the concession agreement for the Salles - Saint Geours de Maremne section of the A63 motorway in south-west France, concluded between the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing and the Atlandes company, was officially published (in the Journal Officiel) on 23 January 2011.

This 40-year concession concerns the upgrading, widening to a six-lane highway, financing and operation of this 104-kilometre stretch of the A63 motorway, formerly Route Nationale 10. Works are planned to last 41 months and the road will stay open during the whole period. In consideration for the State's handing over of the existing road and the works that have already been carried out under a public procurement contract, the concession agreement requires Atlandes to pay an upfront entry fee to the procuring authority of EUR 400 million.

Atlandes is a special purpose company set up by a consortium of sponsors comprising the Colas group (Colas Sud Ouest and SCREG Sud Ouest), Spie batignolles, NGE, Egis Projects, HSBC European Motorway Investments 1 and DIF Infrastructure II BV.

The sponsors and Atlandes were advised by Gide Loyrette Nouel. From the launch of the competitive bid through to the conclusion of the financing, Gide Loyrette Nouel provided a dedicated team led by Bénédicte Mazel and Marie Bouvet-Guiramand, with Mathilde Bonnet, Estelle Carrère-Ricome and Charlotte Préaux.