Ferrovial sells BAA stake below 50%
Ferrovial today announced the long-awaited sale of some of its stake in the Heathrow Airport owner BAA, selling 6% to a US rival for 325 million (£281 million).
A year ago, the Spanish infrastructure group said it would sell up to 10% of its holding in BAA. Today, however, it disposed of only 5.9% to infrastructure group Alinda Capital Partners - which owns gas, ports and water interests including South Staffordshire Water in the UK - and added that it was not planning on selling any more.
Íñigo Meirás, Ferrovial's chief executive, said: "We would like to underline our commitment as a long-term investor in BAA remains in place. Heathrow is one of the best infrastructure assets in the world."
The sale values BAA at £4.76 billion. It takes Ferrovial's ownership of the airports company down to 49.99%. When Ferrovial led a consortium of investors to buy the business in 2006 it paid £10.3 billion.
Today it said it would use the proceeds of the sale to buy new infrastructure and services projects.
The 325 million sale comes just a week after BAA lost its latest appeal in the two-year battle between it and the Competition Commission over the ruling that BAA must sell Stansted airport and either Glasgow or Edinburgh airport.
BAA has said it will press ahead with plans for a judicial review of the decision.
The other shareholders in BAA are GIC, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, which has a 17.7% stake, and Britannia Airport Partners which owns just under 26.5%.
