Obrascón Huarte Lain
Encyclopedia
Obrascón Huarte Lain, S.A. (OHL) is an Spanish
-based multinational
construction
and civil engineering
company. The company is involved in infrastructure and commercial property
construction, as well as homebuilding
and the operation of toll road
and other transport concessions
. In the latter, the group is particularly active in Brazil
through its majority-owned subsidiary OHL Brasil. OHL also has a majority-owned American subsidiary called Tower-OHL Group which is based in Miami, Florida
.
OHL was founded by the $900 million merger in 1999 of the firms Obrascón-Huarte and Construcciones Lain. Since July 2008 the company has been a constituent of the benchmark IBEX 35
stock market index
on the Bolsa de Madrid
.
s in the Port of Lisbon
. The company grew over the decades, being acquired first by the Banco de Bilbao
in 1953 and then by Altos Hornos de Vizcaya
20 years later. Obrascón fell into financial difficulties in the late 1980s, however, and was bought from bankruptcy
for one penny in 1987 by Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, who remains the company's chairman today. Villar turned around the firm's fortunes and it listed on the Bolsa de Madrid
in 1991.
In 1998 Obrascón merged with its larger, but struggling, rival Huarte, a major construction firm established in Pamplona
in 1927. The following year a further merger was conducted with Construcciones Lain, a publicly-traded firm originally founded as the Spanish arm of John Laing Construction in 1963. This deal created the Obrascón Huarte Lain group in its current form.
On November 30, 2010 OHL acquired 50.1% of the US construction company Judlau Contracting, Inc., specialized in civil engineering with headquarters operations in the state of New York.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-based multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
company. The company is involved in infrastructure and commercial property
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
construction, as well as homebuilding
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
and the operation of toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
and other transport concessions
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
. In the latter, the group is particularly active in 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...
through its majority-owned subsidiary OHL Brasil. OHL also has a majority-owned American subsidiary called Tower-OHL Group which is based in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
OHL was founded by the $900 million merger in 1999 of the firms Obrascón-Huarte and Construcciones Lain. Since July 2008 the company has been a constituent of the benchmark 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
Stock market index
A stock market index is a method of measuring a section of the stock market. Many indices are cited by news or financial services firms and are used as benchmarks, to measure the performance of portfolios such as mutual funds....
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...
.
History
The company's roots stretch back to May 1911 and the foundation of Sociedad General de Obras y Construcciones Obrascón, S.A., whose first project was the construction of two wharfWharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
s in the Port of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. The company grew over the decades, being acquired first by the Banco de Bilbao
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. is a multinational Spanish banking group. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria, both of which in turn had previously amalgamated three important banks in Spain, namely Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, Banco Exterior de...
in 1953 and then by Altos Hornos de Vizcaya
Altos Hornos de Vizcaya
Altos Hornos de Vizcaya was a ironworks business that began in 1902 in Bilbao with the merger of three iron and steel businesses: Altos Hornos de Bilbao, La Vizcaya, and La Iberia...
20 years later. Obrascón fell into financial difficulties in the late 1980s, however, and was bought from bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
for one penny in 1987 by Juan-Miguel Villar Mir, who remains the company's chairman today. Villar turned around the firm's fortunes and it 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...
in 1991.
In 1998 Obrascón merged with its larger, but struggling, rival Huarte, a major construction firm established in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
in 1927. The following year a further merger was conducted with Construcciones Lain, a publicly-traded firm originally founded as the Spanish arm of John Laing Construction in 1963. This deal created the Obrascón Huarte Lain group in its current form.
On November 30, 2010 OHL acquired 50.1% of the US construction company Judlau Contracting, Inc., specialized in civil engineering with headquarters operations in the state of New York.