Rumours that GIP might sell the airport for up to £3 billion.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...nburgh-airport
Global Infrastructure Partners is considering a potential sale of Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, as global air travel picks up again after the pandemic, people familiar with the matter said.
The New York-based investor is speaking with potential advisers about the feasibility of a sale next year and has informally reached out to some suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Edinburgh Airport could be valued at as much as £3 billion ($3.4 billion) in a deal, according to the people. A sale is likely to draw other infrastructure funds and financial investors keen to expand in the sector, they said.
Deliberations are ongoing and GIP could also decide against a sale, the people said. Representatives for GIP and Edinburgh Airport declined to comment.
Edinburgh Airport is Britain’s sixth-busiest with flights to more than 150 destinations. It attracted around 15 million passengers in 2019, according to its website. Those numbers cratered during the coronavirus crisis but have been recovering as travel restrictions ease around the world.
To be sure, an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine are threatening to keep UK passenger numbers below historical averages this winter.
GIP acquired Edinburgh Airport in 2012 from BAA Ltd. for about £807 million. The infrastructure fund sold a controlling stake in London’s Gatwick Airport for £2.9 billion pounds to Vinci SA in 2018.