MAG talks to other consortiums about combined Gatwick bid
31.05.09
Bidders shut out of the Gatwick auction could be set to re-enter the process after Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the frontrunner (some would say only remaining bidder) to acquire Britain's second-largest airport, held talks about enlarging its bidding consortium, the Guardian reports.
The newspaper reports that MAG has discussed teaming with former bidders Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the GE / Credit Suisse backed investment fund, and Lysander, a consortium made up of Citi Infrastructure, Vancouver Airport and John Hancock Life Insurance. It says that MAG would welcome a fourth partner in a consortium with two other members: Canadian infrastructure investor Borealis and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF).
Lysander was ejected from the auction process after its bid, believed to be under £1.2bn (one report suggesting £1.13bn), was deemed too low by BAA. The status of US-based GIP is less clear, after its bidding team halted work when BAA appealed against a Competition Commission ruling that ordered a partial break-up of the group. According to reports, a precondition of GIP's £1.3bn bid was that BAA did not appeal against the commission's ruling that Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport should be sold.
The Guardian adds that MAG's bid moved forward last week after Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, gave an appropriate grade rating to its planned offer. Fitch, another agency, has given MAG's bid an investment grade rating.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book hotels gatwick airport or car park gatwick airport at the lowest price, click on these links to two great gatwick parking and gatwick hotels price comparison pages.
