German construction company Hochtief has confirmed a takeover bid for Spanish toll road operator Abertis.
The bid, made at 18.76 euros per share, equates to a total of 17.1 billion euros ($20.1 billion).
"Following the transformation of Hochtief over the last five years the combination with Abertis is the next strategic step," said Marcelino Fernández Verdes, chairman of Hochtief 's Executive Board, in a press release Wednesday.
In the same release Hochtief estimated synergies arising from the tie-up would sit between 6 and 8 billion euros.
The German firm added that it expected the joint firm to reap significant business from growth in North American, European and Australian markets. Hochtief claimed it is targeting a project pipeline in the value of 200 billion euros for the period 2018-2021.
Hochtief says it will issue 24.79 million new shares to help fund any takeover.
The Spanish firm ACS is the parent company of Hochtief. Following the announcement, shares in Hochtief rose more than 3 percent.
The latest bid rivals an earlier offer of 16.3 billion euros from Italian road toll firm Atlantia.