Airports operator BAA is set to attract interest from a string of companies keen to buy one or more of its airports if, as expected, it is ordered by regulators to divest any.
Britain's Competition Commission is expected this week to call for the Spanish-owned company to sell one or more of its seven airports, with London's Gatwick the most likely to go on the block.
Germany's Fraport and construction group Hochtief both declared interest on Monday, while London City Airport co-owner Global Infrastructure Partners, Australia's Macquarie and Manchester Airports Group are also expected to take part in any bidding process.
BAA, bought by Spain's Ferrovial for just over £10bn ($18.68bn) in 2006, owns the three main London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.
The competition regulator laid the ground for a break-up of the monopoly with the publication of a preliminary study in April, which said that under a single owner there was no competition among some airports.
Some press reports have put the value of Gatwick at around £3bn ($5.6bn), although Collins Stewart analyst Andrew Fitchie said he found that valuation 'quite incredible'.
"This is out of line with the fundamental economics facing the aviation industry today and the deteriorating credit and economic environment," he said in a note.
Interested
Fraport is interested in principle in BAA airports and is reviewing whether taking a stake in one would make sense, a spokesman for the German airport operator said on Monday.
German construction group Hochtief also expressed interest. "If an airport in Britain is for sale we would take a look at it," a spokeswoman said, adding London's Gatwick airport would be interesting.
An industry source said it would also make sense for Macquarie to participate in any auction, as it already owns airports including Bristol in the UK.
"Macquarie is a major investor in the airport sector globally, so logically it would be interested in BAA," the source said. A Macquarie spokeswoman declined to comment.
Manchester Airports Group, which owns four airports in the north of England including Manchester, has kept its options open regarding a bid.
"The group is interested in acquiring assets that will add value for our shareholders," chief executive Geoff Muirhead told the Manchester Evening News earlier this year. A source familiar with the matter added that nothing had changed since he gave the statement.
And Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the GE-Credit Suisse investment fund, declared an interest in recent months to trade publication Infrastructure News.
The company is part-owner with insurer American International Group of London City Airport, a key link to London's financial centres.
A GIP spokesman declined to comment further, while BAA also declined to comment.
By John Bowker, Reuters.
