Hochtief has advanced a €17.1bn ($20.13bn) proposal, with €18.76 ($22.08) for each Abertis share, also setting a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share.
The offer tops the €16.3bn ($19bn) bid from Atlantia, which entered an acceptance period from October 10-24 as announced by Spanish financial regulator Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).
Meanwhile, the board of directors at Abertis unanimously concluded that the offer from Atlantia is “positive and attractive from the industrial point of view, but considers that the cash consideration value has margin of improvement”.
Earlier this summer, ACS confirmed to the CNMV that it was considering an offer for Abertis.
Hochtief has also outlined plans to increase the dividend pay-out ratio towards 90% of the distributable net profits of the combined group, should its merger with Abertis succeed.