BAA still hopeful for Gatwick sale

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BAA still hopeful for Gatwick sale

By ATW Staff
ATW's Airports Today, August, 2009, p.3

The sale of London Gatwick by UK airport operator BAA is up in the air after the last remaining bidder refused to budge from its original £1.4 billion ($2.29 billion) offer. BAA parent Ferrovial reportedly wanted £1.5 billion, but a consortium led by Manchester Airports Group and Canadian infrastructure fund Borealis declined to increase its bid, according to press reports.

"We still have multiple bidders in the process," BAA spokesperson Damon Hunt told ATW's Airports Today. "We are talking to a number of parties and negotiations. We are still hopeful we will have a sale."

A second bidder, Global Infrastructure Partners, which owns about 75% of London City Airport, reportedly dropped out after BAA rejected its £1.36 billion offer. A third prospective buyer, a group led by Citi Infrastructure Investors, pulled out in May. The UK Competition Commission ruled in March that BAA must sell LGW, London Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow International within the next two years. Anticipating that decision, BAA already had announced plans to sell LGW. Passenger traffic at the airport fell 9.8% year-over-year in the first half of 2009.

Hunt discounted reports that BAA was under a looming deadline to strike a deal on LGW. "There have been some saying [that] we need to sell Gatwick early next year because we have a payment due on a loan. We won't be forced into a fire sale of Gatwick. We definitely want a reasonable price."

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BAA still hopeful for Gatwick sale

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