Big guns are lined up for this year’s three big airport transactions

After spending two years distinctly in the doldrums since the fire sale bargain disposal of Gatwick Airport, airport privatisation activities are beginning to make the news headlines again. Currently there are three major transactions - the sale by Hochtief of its concessions division, which includes airports; the concession on Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin airport, and, the biggest of them all, the concessions to operate Spain's two main airports at Madrid and Barcelona. This article looks at who is bidding for what and, as far as can be ascertained, why. It considers the possibility that at least one of the processes could still fall at the last hurdle.