spermann Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 From The TimesAugust 21, 2007 Investors eye Gatwick as BAA contemplates a forced asset sale David Robertson, Business Correspondent Potential buyers for BAA’s Gatwick Airport are positioning themselves ahead of an anticipated £3 billion-plus auction for the transport hub. Sources close to Dubai Aerospace, which has bid $1.8 billion ($900 million) for Auckland Airport in New Zealand, have revealed that the company would consider a bid if BAA made Gatwick available. Wilhelm Bender, chief executive of Fraport, which owns Frankfurt Airport, said yesterday that he, too, would be interested in buying one of BAA’s facilities. Aviation sources have said that bankers in London are working on possible acquisition strategies for a number of clients. Analysts believe that these are likely to be financial buyers such as Macquarie Bank or private equity groups. This positioning by potential buyers comes two weeks after the Competition Commission said that it was beginning an investigation into whether BAA’s monopoly of London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – should be broken up. Related Links New monopoly probe to mull BAA break-up Tempus comment: Inquiry takes off Many of the submissions to the commission claimed that BAA’s control of these three strategic assets was stifling competition and investment at the airports. The commission’s investigation is likely to take another two years, but if it finds against BAA, the company could be forced to sell one of its airports. Ferrovial, the Spanish construction company that bought BAA last year for £10.3 billion, is thought to want to sell some of its seven UK airports to pay down debt from the acquisition. It may decide to act before the commission forces its hand. Robert Cullemore, a consultant with Aviation Economics in London, said: “If Ferrovial waits until the commission completes its inquiry, it could be in a situation where it is a forced seller. That will certainly be a concern for them because they will not want to get into a position of being forced to dispose of Gatwick or Stansted.” Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), which is state-owned, is rapidly expanding its aircraft maintenance and leasing business, but it also has its eyes on international airports. This month DAE bought Landmark, an American leasing company, for $1.9 billion, and it was part of a consortium that paid $1.6 billion for SR Technics, the Swiss aircraft maintenance company, last year. DAE owns Dubai International Airport and is trying to buy a controlling stake in Auckland Airport. Mr Bender expressed an interest in BAA’s assets during a financial results conference yesterday. He said: “When things become concrete, we will look at it and show interest.” Airports have become attractive because of the growth in demand for air travel and the difficulty in finding locations to build new facilities. Macquarie, the Australian bank, has stakes in airports including Bristol, Birmingham and Sydney. In June it sold its holding in Aeroporti di Roma for $1.6 billion. Other companies thought to be interested in BAA’s assets include Hochtief, the German group that owns six airports, and Albertis, a Spanish company with stakes in Luton, Cardiff and Belfast airports. AIG, which recently bought London City Airport for about £700 million, could also be a bidder. BAA said it has no plans to sell an airport at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Are you Copycat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spermann Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Are you Copycat? fuckin hell monkey man, thats a bit harsh on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Gotta be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 Are you Copycat? fuckin hell monkey man, thats a bit harsh on me. Explain the random attempt at non-story link with the Isle of Man then, and tone your language down please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spermann Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Are you Copycat? fuckin hell monkey man, thats a bit harsh on me. Explain the random attempt at non-story link with the Isle of Man then, and tone your language down please. many appologies for the foul language - no harm meant. dont need to explain any posts to you, random or not Mr Monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 So why is this local news? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devil Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I would asume as it would affect us no? if the airport is sold flights might be affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcCann Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 I would asume as it would affect us no? if the airport is sold flights might be affected. Only if it is sold to Tesco and they build a great big supermarket on the main runway. Otherwise I very much doubt it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spermann Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 I would asume as it would affect us no? if the airport is sold flights might be affected. Only if it is sold to Tesco and they build a great big supermarket on the main runway. Otherwise I very much doubt it Dubai Aerospace may not want an IOM slot...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballaughbiker Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 They might not want an IOM slot but I would have thought a contract might be in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spermann Posted August 28, 2007 Author Share Posted August 28, 2007 They might not want an IOM slot but I would have thought a contract might be in place? The same sort of contract that Manx Airlines had at Heathrow prior to BA buying them out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Same slots but different process Heathrow didn't throw Manx off. Manx transferrred its slots to BA. BA owned Manx. They have a value nowadays. Previously the slots had belonged to BMA. BA, BEA and so on back to year dot. They had little value and transferred with the route. Slots became vauable as Heathrow became full and under EU anti trust law slots were just landing and take off times to and from anywhere, no longer route related So Gatwick is sold, they cannot get rid of the EuroManx slots, EuroManx may sell if Gatwick gets as popular as Heathrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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