BAA to put Stansted up for sale
that handles 23m passengers a year and is the centre for no-frills airlines in
Britain.
and operated the London trio of Heathow, Gatwick and Stansted since it was created
40 years ago as a government agency.
keep hold of Stansted, despite recommendations from competition watchdogs that
it should sell.
courts rather than give up the Essex hub. It is understood, however, that the
Spanish infrastructure group is now prepared to drop its objections.
early next month, and is expected to order BAA to give up Gatwick – which it is
already selling – Stansted, and one of its two large Scottish airports.
for its board.
the government controversially decided to support the construction of a third
runway at Heathrow.
has won on the bigger point of expanding Heathrow," said one airline executive.
like many infrastructure companies is struggling with debts taken on during rapid
expansion in recent years.
schedule for debt taken on during the purchase of BAA, for which it paid £10.1
billion three years ago.
remaining bidders to submit their final offers by March 30.
another led by Citigroup’s infrastructure fund, and a third comprising the Canadian
fund Borealis and Manchester airport. They will be vetted by the Competition Commission
in the first week of March.
and independence from BAA – and that they do not own a competing airport.
notional "par" value £1.7 billion, which is the value regulators put on its assets.