by Isla Binnie, Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbaglia
LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) – The Spanish group Ferrovial
FER.MC is exploring options for its 25% stake in London’s Heathrow airport, two sources told Reuters, and has held preliminary talks with outside advisers about the future of its stake in Britain’s main airport. .
These preliminary discussions come as the Ardian fund has expressed its interest in this participation. The French private equity firm has brought in its own advisers on the possibility of a joint proposal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, sources and another person familiar with the matter said.
Ferrovial FER.MC, Heathrow’s biggest shareholder, has yet to make a final decision and talks may not lead to a sale, all the sources said.
The title of the Spanish company, listed in Madrid, closed on a rise of 3.7%, while gaining about 0.3% before Reuters reported on these discussions.
Ferrovial and Ardian declined requests for comment. No comment could be immediately obtained from the Saudi fund.
Heathrow is worth around 24.3 billion euros including debt, according to calculations made last May by analysts at JPMorgan JPM.N. The bank estimates the net value of Ferrovial’s stake in London airport at 611 million euros.
Among the busiest in the world, the main British airport was heavily affected by the containment measures imposed during the coronavirus health crisis.
In July, like other European airports, Heathrow asked airlines to stop selling summer tickets and limit passenger numbers to reduce queues, baggage delays and cancellations flights, in a context of labor shortages faced with the rebound in demand for travel.
London airport’s second largest shareholder with a 20% stake, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) declined to comment on information from Reuters.
The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), the Singaporean fund GIC and China Investment Corporation, other major shareholders of Heathrow, could not immediately be reached.
Ardian partnered with Crédit Agricole in 2015 to acquire a 49% stake in 2i Aeroporti, one of Italy’s largest airport networks, with indirect stakes in Milan’s Malpensa and Linate airports, among others.
A separate source who worked on Ferrovial’s 2006 takeover of Heathrow said the Spanish group’s board had frequently reviewed its strategy over the years but never reached consensus on the sale of attendance.
This source added that Ardian had made a first approach to Ferrovial last year, but that discussions had not progressed.
Heathrow said last year that it did not expect a full recovery in traffic until 2026.
(Report Isla Binnie, Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbaglia; French version Jean Terzian, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)