Ferrovial completed the sale of 10.62% of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. (formerly BAA Ltd.) to Qatar Holding LLC for 478 million pounds after obtaining approval from the European Union’s competition authorities. As an industrial partner and the principal investor, Ferrovial remains committed to HAH.
Ferrovial, which holds an indirect stake of 44.27% in Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. (formerly BAA Ltd.), has sold Qatar Holding LLC a 10.62% stake in FGP Topco Ltd., parent company of Heathrow Airport Holdings, for 478 million pounds.
The deal, announced in August, was pending authorization by the competition authorities. The European Commission recently approved the transaction after ascertaining that it complied with EU legislation on mergers and acquisitions.
Íñigo Meirás, CEO of Ferrovial: “This transaction fulfills two objectives for us: it allows us to maintain our position as the principal shareholder and industrial partner of Heathrow Airport Holdings, and it further strengthens our liquidity situation, providing us with notable flexibility to undertake investments in infrastructure and services projects.”
As part of this same transaction, Qatar Holding also acquired stakes of 5.63% of FGP Topco from Britannia Airport Partners and 3.75% from GIC, both in proportion to their holdings in that company; as a result, Qatar now owns 20% of Heathrow Airport Holdings. Those stakes were sold at the same price per share. The deal amounted to 900 million pounds in total.
As a result of this transaction and the sale of a stake to Stable Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of CIC International Co., Ltd. on October 2012, Ferrovial’s indirect stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd. has declined to 33.65%. The other shareholder stakes are as follows: Qatar Holding 20%, Britannia Airport Partners 13.29%, GIC 11.88%, Alinda 11.18%, and Stable Investment Corporation 10%.
Qatar Holding LLC will join the boards of FGP Topco Ltd. and Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd.
