ACS shares triple after La Caixa investment, boosting Florentino Pérez stake

Criteria, the investment arm of Fundación La Caixa, paid €983 million on 24 May 2024 for a 9.36% stake in Spanish construction group ACS at €38.65 per share. Two years later the share price is around €120, valuing the stake at about €3.05 billion and giving Criteria a latent capital gain of roughly €2.07 billion.

ACS’s market capitalisation has risen from €7.6 billion to nearly €34 billion, making it one of the top gainers on the Ibex 35. Revenue‑linked profit grew 22% between 2023 and 2025, from €780 million to €950 million. President and largest shareholder Florentino Pérez, who holds about 15% of the company, now has a stake worth roughly €5 billion.

The company’s turnaround is credited to a strategic shift towards data‑center and other technology infrastructure, dynamic toll‑road assets, expansion in the United States and Australia, and high‑value sectors such as semiconductors, bio‑pharma, defence and critical minerals. Analysts note that investors now see ACS as a diversified, cash‑generating group rather than just a traditional builder.