“Brisa – Auto-Estradas de Portugal, SA states that it will use all means within its reach to restore the legality in the Auto-Estradas do Douro Litoral concession, after the hostile action triggered by a group of creditors led by the hedge fund Strategic Value Partners LLC,” the company said on Sunday in a statement, without describing exactly the actions it will take.

The creditors of the Douro concession on Thursday took over the concessionaire’s social holdings.

According to the creditors, in the last five years, the concessionaire has not fulfilled its obligations to pay reimbursements of capital, interest, costs, and commissions to its financial contracts, due to a high-cost structure and traffic levels that are below the original expectations.

Brisa counteracts that “the entry by hostile means, without prior notice, amid a negotiating process, by these short-term investment funds, should be of great concern, because it immediately jeopardises the normal functioning of the concessionaire and public service provided to the Portuguese people by the Auto-Estradas do Douro Litoral.”