Spain's Ferrovial is in talks with more than one bidder for London's Gatwick airport and expects to close the sale in the next few weeks, its chairman said Tuesday, bringing to a close a year-long sale process.
Gatwick, controlled by Ferrovial's British airports operator BAA, is London's second busiest airport and could fetch up to EUR1.8 billion euros.
"We're in advanced talks with more than one interested party and if things pan out as hoped we expect a sale in the next few weeks," chairman Rafael del Pino told journalists after a shareholders meeting.
Separately, banking sources in London said infrastructure fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) had received a GBP1.125 billion pound (USD$1.85 billion) loan to back the possible acquisition of Gatwick.
BAA put Gatwick up for sale last year, just before Britain's Competition Commission ordered its sale and that of two other of its British airports due to antitrust concerns.
On Monday, the first day of a three-day appeal of the commission's decision, BAA alleged that one of the members of the inquiry had links to one of the Gatwick bidders.
However, the competition watchdog said in a document sent to reporters on Tuesday that it would argue that the airport operator knew of the links from the beginning of the 2007 inquiry and therefore has waived its right to object.
Ferrovial shareholders approved the appointment of Inigo Meiras as new chief executive to replace Joaquin Ayuso, who will remain with the company as non-executive deputy chairman.
Speaking to the press in his new role of CEO, Meiras confirmed that BAA's property company APP Lynton is up for sale but declined to talk about valuations or timeframes for any deal.
