PGGM, the second-biggest Dutch pensions manager, has acquired a minority stake in a French group that operates motorways stretching from Paris to the Alps, adding to toll-road holdings in Germany, Spain, Portugal and Ireland as well as its native country.

It has acquired the stake in Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône from Australian infrastructure specialist Macquarie. In a statement, PGGM's head of infrastructure Henk Huizing, said APRR had a "pivotal role in traffic flows in Western Europe" and he expected it to profit from France's economic recovery.