HEATHROW's largest shareholder, Ferrovial, has offloaded its stake in two separate deals with French private equity outfit Ardian and the Saudi public investment fund.

Ardian will take 15 per cent of Heathrow and the Saudis 10.

The deal will net Ferrovial around £2.4bn, according to analyst measures, and marks the end of 17 years of involvement for the Spanish giant.

In that time Heathrow has shot to the top of the global airport traffic rankings and then battled through the pandemic, with the airport now at loggerheads with airlines and the regulator over passenger fees.

The offloading had been expected but analysts were impressed with a toppy price.

"For a fully regulated asset, the price should be well received," a note from Jefferies yesterday read.

Luke Bugeja, Ferrovial's airport director, said yesterday that "over the last 17 years, we have been contributing to Heathrow's transformation, together with our fellow shareholders, achieving some excellent milestones throughout our long-term role as investors.

"These include overseeing an investment of £12bn pounds, expanding its capacity with the construction of Terminal 2, and improving its operational performance. We are very pleased to have made Heathrow one of the world's most connected airports and the busiest airport in Europe."

Ferrovial is maintaining its stake in other UK airports including Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton. The firm's shares, which are dual-listed in Madrid and Amsterdam, rose on the news.

Heathrow has also recently hired a new CEO as the airport seeks to turn the page on the pandemic. Danish boss Thomas Woldybe, formerly the main man at Copenhagen Airport, has stepped into the role occupied for many years by John Holland-Kaye.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper