London City owners - and others - eyeing BAA airports
16.08.07
The owners of London City Airport are 'running the slide rule over Gatwick', The Business magazine has reported, 'as expectations grow that the Competition Commission will smash the monopolistic empire of BAA.' The story comes in the same week that the Express newspaper suggests that Macquarie Bank, Australia's largest investment bank, and Fraport AG, Frankfurt Airport's owner, may bid for one or more of BAA's UK airports.
London City's owners - insurance giant American International Group (AIG) and Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure - are 'keen to add Gatwick to their portfolio', the Business reports, even though the Competition Commission are more than two years away from delivering their conclusions on UK airport ownership, which BAA could appeal, and BAA have said that they will not sell any of their UK airports.
The magazine quotes 'an insider' saying: 'There is no doubt that both of London City's shareholders will focus on something like Gatwick. There is going to be a feeding frenzy when it [the break-up] happens.'
The Business then adds another 3 of the usual suspects to the list of bidders for any airport that is not for sale - Hochtief, the German building and airports group, and Albertis, a Spanish company with stakes in Luton, Cardiff and Belfast airports. It adds that Grupo ACS, the Spanish construction group that holds stakes in both Hochtief and Albertis, is another potential bidder.
Balfour Beatty, the British construction group that holds a 60% stake in Exeter airport, is also interested in BAA's airports, the magazine adds. Ian Tyler, chief executive, told The Business that he would consider BAA's smaller airports, such as Southampton. 'We would look at something at that size.'
The magazine might be shocked to learn that we are not interested in buying any of BAA's UK airports, as we think that the market is overvalued and, with stock markets falling, an exit route and profit is not assured.
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