Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. (ACS) is a Spanish company dedicated to civil and engineering construction, all types services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects in many countries around the world. The company was founded in 1997 through the merger of OCP Construcciones, S.A. and Ginés Navarro Construcciones, S.A.. The group has a global presence, including countries like Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 and Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. The headquarters are in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 and the chairman is Florentino Pérez

Florentino Pérez

Florentino Pérez Rodríguez is a Spanish businessman, civil engineer, former politician, and current president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, as well as ACS...

. Listed on the Bolsa de Madrid

Bolsa de Madrid

Bolsa de Madrid is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securities, and both government and private-sector debt...

, the company's shares form part of the IBEX 35

IBEX 35

The IBEX 35 is the benchmark stock market index of the Bolsa de Madrid, Spain's principal stock exchange. Initiated in 1992, the index is administered and calculated by Sociedad de Bolsas, a subsidiary of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles , the company which runs Spain's securities markets...

 stock market index.

History

In 1983 a team of engineers acquired Construcciones Padrós S.A., a construction business which had been in financial difficulty. Subsequently in 1993 the company acquired a majority holding in Cobra, a support services business. In 1993 a merger with OCISA S.A. took place creating OCP Construcciones, S.A.

In 1997 the company merged with Ginés Navarro Construcciones, S.A. creating Groupo ACS.

In 1999 the company acquired Onyx SCL, an environmental contractor and in 2000 made investments in Xfera and Broadnet, telecommunications businesses.

In 2003 the company acquired Dragados S.A., a leading contractor.

In 2006 the company acquired 22.0% of Unión Fenosa

Unión Fenosa

Unión Fenosa, S.A., is a large Spanish company dedicated to the production and distribution to end users of gas and electricity. It has installed capacity of 11,120 megawatts of power and 8.9 million customers. The headquarters are in Madrid and the chairman is Pedro López Jiménez...

(raised later to 45%), a leading utilities business.

In 2007 the Grupo ACS acquired 25.1% of Hochtief

Hochtief

Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's largest construction company. It is based in Essen but operates globally, ranking as the top general builder in the United States through its Turner Corporation subsidiary, and in Australia through the Leighton Group. In 2010 it employed more than 70,000...

 (raised later to 30%), the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 contractor.

In 2011 the Grupo ACS raised its stake in Hochtief

Hochtief

Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's largest construction company. It is based in Essen but operates globally, ranking as the top general builder in the United States through its Turner Corporation subsidiary, and in Australia through the Leighton Group. In 2010 it employed more than 70,000...

 to 50,16% taking over control of the company.

Construction companies

• Dragados
• VYCSA - VYCSA
  • Roura & Cevasa - Roura & Cevasa
  • Electren - Electren
  • Constru-Rail - Constru-Rail
• TECSA - TECSA
• Drace - Drace
• Dravosa
• GEOCISA - GEOCISA
• COGESA
• Dycvensa - Dycvensa
• Dycasa - Dycasa
• Schiavone - Schiavone
• Pol-Aqua - Pol-Aqua
• Pulice - Pulice
• John Picone - John Picone
• Hochtief
  Hochtief
  Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft is Germany's largest construction company. It is based in Essen but operates globally, ranking as the top general builder in the United States through its Turner Corporation subsidiary, and in Australia through the Leighton Group. In 2010 it employed more than 70,000...
  
   - Hochtief

Industrial companies

• Grupo Cobra - Grupo Cobra
• Grupo Etra - Grupo Etra
• SEMISA - SEMISA
• MAESSA - MAESSA
• IMESAPI - IMESAPI
• EYRA
• CYMI - CYMI
• Dragados OFFSHORE - Dragados OFFSHORE
• Grupo Masa - Grupo Masa
• Intecsa Industrial (before known as Intecsa-Uhde Industrial) - Intecsa Industrial
• Initec Energía - Initec Energía
• SICE - SICE
• Makiber - Makiber

City Services

• Urbaser - Urbaser
• Clece - Clece
• Dragados SPL
• Continental-Auto - Continental-Auto

Also the company has minority investments in the following companies:

• Abertis
  Abertis
  Abertis Infraestructuras, S.A. is a Spanish corporation. The company runs 6,713 kilometres of motorways in Europe and operates more than a dozen airports in cities including London, Stockholm and Orlando...
  
   (25%)
• Iberdrola
  Iberdrola
  Iberdrola , headquartered in Bilbao, is a private utility with a global footprint and over 150 years of experience...
  
   (20.2%)
• Urbis
  Urbis
  Urbis is an exhibition centre located in Manchester, England. From 2002 to 2010, the centre hosted changing exhibits on popular culture topics including urban living, art, music, fashion, photography and videogames alongside talks, gigs and special events....
  
  

Major projects

Major projects involving the company have included the Alqueva Dam

Alqueva dam

The Alqueva dam is a dam located on the Guadiana River in the Alentejo region. The reservoir is the largest in Portugal and Western Europe.The complex project was made to produce hydroelectric power, irrigation for farms in the surrounding area, as well as a large reservoir where several tourist...

 completed in 2002, the El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía

El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía

Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts is an opera house and cultural centre in Valencia, Spain...

 completed in 2005, the Torre Agbar

Torre Agbar

The Torre Agbar is a 38-storey tower located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm B720...

 completed in 2005, the Torre de Cristal

Torre de Cristal

The Torre de Cristal is a skyscraper in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid , completed in 2008. With a final height of 249.5 metres, it ranks as the second tallest building in the country after neighbouring Torre Caja Madrid...

 completed in 2008, the Torre Espacio

Torre Espacio

The Torre Espacio is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain. The skyscraper is 236 metres tall and has 57 floors....

 completed in 2008, the Torre Repsol completed in 2008, the Torre Caja Madrid

Torre Caja Madrid

The Torre Caja Madrid is a skyscraper located in the Cuatro Torres Business Area in Madrid, Spain. With a height of and 45 floors, it is the tallest of the four buildings in the Cuatro Torres Business Area complex, surpassing Torre de Cristal by less than a metre, and the tallest building in...

 completed in 2008, the LGV Perpignan-Figueres

LGV Perpignan-Figueres

The LGV Perpignan–Figueres is an international high-speed rail line between France and Spain. The line connects two cities on opposite sides of the border, Perpignan in Roussillon, France, and Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. It consists of a line which crosses the French–Spanish border via the ...

 High Speed railway completed in 2009 and the Portugues Dam

Portugues Dam

The Portugués Dam is a roller-compacted concrete thick arch dam that is currently under construction on the Portugués River, three miles northwest of the city Ponce, in Barrio Tibes, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Construction on the dam began in April 2008, soon after the U.S...

 in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

due to be completed in 2013.