CONTROLLING interest in London's Gatwick Airport is being sold to French construction company Vinci SA for GBP2.9 billion (US$3.7 billion), Bloomberg reports.
The purchase of 50.01 per cent in the world's second-busiest single runway airport from a group of investors including sovereign wealth funds from Abu Dhabi and Australia will be financed with pound-denominated debt, the Vinci statement said.
New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners, the surviving shareholder, will manage the remaining holding. Gatwick will soon become the largest airport in Vinci's global network spanning Brazil to Sweden.
Said Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska: 'Airports are attractive investments in a world of high volatility, because returns can be predictable. In any Brexit scenario, people will still go on holiday.'
Vinci's next major European airport opportunity could be when France privatises Aeroports de Paris, said Bloomberg. But Vinci dismissed such questions, saying Paris Charles de Gaulle is not for sale.
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The purchase of 50.01 per cent in the world's second-busiest single runway airport from a group of investors including sovereign wealth funds from Abu Dhabi and Australia will be financed with pound-denominated debt, the Vinci statement said.
New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners, the surviving shareholder, will manage the remaining holding. Gatwick will soon become the largest airport in Vinci's global network spanning Brazil to Sweden.
Said Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska: 'Airports are attractive investments in a world of high volatility, because returns can be predictable. In any Brexit scenario, people will still go on holiday.'
Vinci's next major European airport opportunity could be when France privatises Aeroports de Paris, said Bloomberg. But Vinci dismissed such questions, saying Paris Charles de Gaulle is not for sale.
WORLD SHIPPING