South Africa's Group Five to increase stake in Hungarian road concession firm

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - South African constructionfirm Group Five will buy a further 10 percent stake inHungarian road concession company Mecsek for 125.16 million rand($9 million), it said on Thursday, seeking to source andparticipate in further global concessions.

Group Five will sell on its 49.99 percent stake in Mecsek'smotorway concession to Aberdeen Infrastructure Funds (AIF), awholly owned subsidiary of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC, for 62.57 million rand.

Group Five and Aberdeen began a strategic equity partnershipin December after buying a 49.99 percent stake in Intertoll,which houses Group Five's main European investment andconcession assets, for 633.2 million.

Group Five said the joint venture gives access toinfrastructure investments in Europe, the United States andAustralia.

It said it will fund the acquisition using cash proceedsfrom the Intertoll transaction.

Mecsek is a road concession company in Hungary set up in2007 to design, build, finance and operate the M6 phase 3, an 80km (50 mile) motorway in southwest Hungary.

Group Five and Aberdeen will jointly hold the additional 10percent stake in Mecsek, split 50.01 percent and 49.99 percent.

In a separate statement, Group Five said it expects toreport a headline loss of between 300 cents per share and 320for the six months to December 2016, citing a 255 million randsettlement with the South African government.

Shares in Group Five were down 8.76 percent to 22.72 rand at1425 GMT.

Seven construction companies agreed in October to contributea total of 1.5 billion rand over the next 12 years towards afund to develop skills in the sector and give black workers abigger role, after antitrust authorities imposed a penalty onthe sector in 2013 for collusion in tendering processes.

Results were also affected by continued weak tradingconditions, contract losses and subdued tendering activity inthe mining and oil and gas sectors, which has placed projectsunder continued pressure.($1 = 13.4050 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)