Airport News

Airport News

VINCI has paid €364 million for a 4.7% stake in fellow global airport operator, Aéroports de Paris (ADP).

Once the transaction is closed, its aviation division – VINCI Airports – will hold an 8% shareholding in ADP, which owns and operates Paris’ airport system and has stakes in a number of other gateways across the world.

As per the terms of the sale, VINCI will get a seat on the ADP board ahead of ADP’s general meeting of its shareholders later this year, when a vote will take place on its 2013 financial accounts.

VINCI, which up until today had refused to comment on press speculation linking it with a bid for a stake in ADP, has acquired some of the French government’s shares in ADP.

“VINCI will propose to ADP, within the context of existing agreements, to enter into discussions to share our respective expertise, particularly in the area of international development,” VINCI said in a statement.

Earlier this year French Finance Minister, Pierre Moscovici, announced plans to sell up to about 10 million shares in ADP – estimated to be worth €700 million.

VINCI’s latest acquisition comes as no great surprise as it told Airport World that it was actively looking for more airport concessions after beating off rival bids from Latin American, German and Swiss-led groups to win the tender for Portuguese airport operator, ANA.

VINCI Airports, which operates Cambodia’s three international gateways and 10 regional airports in France, successfully bid €3 billion for a 95% stake in ANA late last year.

In return for its outlay – ANA employees hold a 5% shareholding – VINCI was awarded a 50-year concession to run Portugal’s airports, which include Lisbon, Porto and Faro as well as gateways in the Azores and Madeira.

With the acquisition of ANA, VINCI announced that it expeced that the airport business would boost its annual revenue to €600 million, with operating profits of around €270 million.