Vinci Acquires Control Of Gatwick Airport

French airport operator Vinci has agreed to buy a controlling stake in London’s Gatwick Airport, the UK’s second biggest airport.

The agreement sees Vinci acquiring a 50.01 percent stake, with New York-based investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) managing the remaining 49.99 percent shareholding.

Vinci said it will pay approximately GBP£2.9 billion (USD$3.67 billion) for the majority stake, subject to closing adjustments.

In the year to end March 2018, Gatwick Airport Group reported total revenue of £764.2 million, with EBITDA of £411.2 million.

The acquisition will take Vinci Airports’ network to 46 airports in 12 countries, serving over 228 million passengers in 2018.

“The whole Vinci Airports network will benefit from Gatwick Airport’s world-class management and operational excellence, which has allowed it to deliver strong and steady growth in a very constrained environment,” the French group’s president of airports Nicolas Notebaert said.

“As Gatwick’s new industrial partner, Vinci Airports will support and encourage growth of traffic, operational efficiency and leverage its international expertise in the development of commercial activities to further improve passenger satisfaction and experience.”

Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said the acquisition was good news for the airport, providing continuity and further investment to improve services.

Wingate also said flights are “fully back to normal” after the recent disruption due to drones encroaching on exclusion zones round the airport and thanked “all those who have supported my teams in getting Gatwick back up and running.”

Gatwick Airport handles over 46 million passengers each year, with services to 228 destinations in 74 countries. It is a major hub for easyJet and British Airways.

As well as being the UK’s second biggest airport, Gatwick operates the busiest single runway in the world, handling 950 flights during a day in 2017.

Existing investors Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, California Public Employees’ Retirement System, National Pension Service of Korea and Australia’s Future Fund will all maintain shareholdings in the airport with GIP managing their stakes.