Spain’s Ferrovial plans to sell a 10 per cent stake in BAA, the owner of London’s Heathrow airport, to pay off debt and fund other projects.
In 2006 the Madrid-based infrastructure group led a consortium that acquired BAA for €16 billion (£14.2 billion), as part of a plan to expand its activities beyond construction.
Ferrovial will now reduce its 55.9 per cent stake in the UK business, but will still remain the largest shareholder.
It is thought that Ferrovial’s stake may be worth around €400 million. Bidders are expected to include infrastructure funds.
BAA owns six UK airports including London Heathrow, the busiest in Europe. Passenger numbers at Heathrow rose 7.6 per cent to 6.2 million last month. The airport ranks number two in the world behind Atlanta Hartsfield in Georgia, US.
Ferrovial, which also has significant interests in construction and toll roads, owes €24.2 billion, of which €15 billion is accounted for by BAA.Earlier this month, the Spanish company agreed to sell 10 per cent of a Toronto toll road for C$894 million.
Ferrovial’s co-investors in BAA are Britannia Airport Partners, which is run by Canada’s biggest pension-fund manager, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, which owns a 26.5 per cent stake; and GIC Special Investments, the Singapore government’s sovereign wealth fund, which holds 17.6 per cent.
