June 2 (Reuters) – Spain FCC (BME:) has agreed to sell a quarter of the share capital of its environmental subsidiary to Canadian pension fund manager CPP Investments for 965 million euros (1.06 billion dollars), it reported Thursday.

FCC, a construction and infrastructure company majority owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, will retain a majority stake in FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente Holding with 75.01%, the company added.

FCC shares were up 4% by 0845 GMT.

The company said the proceeds from the sale will be used primarily to fund strategic opportunities and corporate needs.

Analyst from banker (BME:) describes the operation as positive, as it involves the entry of strategic partners without losing control of the main business.

Other Spanish construction and engineering companies such as FCC, Sacyr (BME:) and Ferrovial (BME:) have tried to divest some of their service subsidiaries.

Ferrovial sold its waste management subsidiaries in Spain and Portugal to Germany’s PreZero International last year and reached an agreement to sell Amey Plc, its UK infrastructure and engineering services business, to focus on investing in waste, road and airport projects in North America.

Sacyr is evaluating potential buyers for its waste management and services subsidiary, Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales, for approximately 500 million euros, to accelerate the growth of its concession infrastructure business, primarily in continental Europe, the UK, Australia and Canada.

FCC Medio Ambiente operates primarily in Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Central and Eastern Europe and the United States.

According to an FCC statement, the CPP group, which manages Canada’s state pension funds, had about C$570 billion ($426.26 billion) in assets under management at the end of March, most of them outside Canada.

The operation still needs to be approved by the competition authorities and financial institutions.

(1 dollar = 0.9084 euros)

(1 dollar = 1.3372 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi, additional reporting by Corina Pons, editing by David Latona and Sharon Singleton; editing in Spanish by Flora Gómez)