Ferrovial starts divestment of minority stake in BAA

Spain's Ferrovial announced (22-Oct-2010) it has started a process for a possible sale of a minority stake in BAA Limited (BAA). Initially, the proposed transaction is to divest 10% of the equity in FGP Topco, parent company of BAA. Ferrovial currently holds, indirectly, 55.87% of BAA, the rest of the equity being held by Britannia Airport Partners LP (26.48%) and GIC (17.65%). Ferrovial intends to use the proceeds of the transaction on other new infrastructure and services projects and to pay down corporate debt, as has been the case with proceeds from recent disposals. The company reportedly plans to settle a deal for the stake in 2011 (Reuters, 22-Oct-2010). Ferrovial's net debt expanded to EUR24.5 billion as of Jun-2010, an increase of EUR2.2 billion since Dec-2009. EUR15 billion of this amount has been from BAA. [more]

Ferrovial: "We have taken the decision to go to the market to sell a minority stake of BAAs capital, though the completion of any sale will depend on the offers received. The process that we have initiated is in line with our strategy to establish a market valuation of our assets. Heathrow is one of the best infrastructure assets in the world and its resilience has been proven by its performance in the current economic circumstances. We would like to underline that our commitment as a long term investor in BAA remains in place," Íñigo Meirás, CEO. Source: Ferrovial, 22-Oct-2010.