Ferrovial sold its stake in Heathrow for £2.37 billion – Kommersant
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Spanish infrastructure operator Ferrovial announced about leaving the shareholders of FGP Topco, the company that manages London Heathrow Airport. Ferrovial sold a 25% stake in Topco to two investment funds – the private fund Ardian and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The transaction amount was £2.37 billion ($3 billion).
The Spanish company was at one time the majority shareholder of Heathrow. In 2006, it acquired a 55.87% stake in FGP Topco. In 2012, Ferrovial sold a 10.6% stake in Topco to Qatari state investment company Qatar Holding, and then reduced its stake in the Heathrow operator to 25%.
The decision to withdraw from the shareholders of London Airport is related to decision British regulator to reduce aircraft parking fees. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic sought this from the airport management.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) noted at the time that Heathrow is already one of the most expensive airports in the world. Airlines have to pay £30.19 for every plane that lands at the airport. The CAA has proposed gradually reducing parking fees to £26.31 over five years. Thus, excluding inflation, the fee will decrease by 6% per year.
Ferrovial considered that this decision would have a negative impact on the investment attractiveness of Heathrow, so it decided to get rid of the asset. At the same time, the Spanish operator assured that it will continue to invest in other airports. The company now owns a 50% stake in three other British airports – in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton.
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