A consortium led by toll road owner Transurban will pay $7 billion to buy a string of Brisbane motorways from the Queensland government.

The consortium said it had signed an agreement to buy Queensland Motorways, which owns a 70km network of tolled roads, on Wednesday night after beating other bidders with a $7.057 billion offer.

Transurban holds a 62.5 per cent stake in the consortium and will operate the Brisbane network, which includes the Go Between Bridge, CLEM7, Gateway and Logan motorways.

Chief executive Scott Charlton said the motorways were high quality assets that would help grow earnings for shareholders.

“Clearly, this is a portfolio of attractive assets with all the characteristics of our existing networks in Sydney and Melbourne, and the attractive demographics of the Queensland market,” Mr Charlton said.

“Today’s acquisition represents the culmination of detailed analysis that began last year, and we are delighted with the outcome.”

Transurban shares, which last traded at $7.27, have been placed in a trading halt pending an announcement about a renounceable entitlement offer to shareholders to fund the purchase.