After months of speculation, Spain’s Ferrovial recently announced that it had reached an agreement for the sale of its entire stake—25%—in FGP Topco, the parent company of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd., for £2.37 million (just over US$3 billion).

The deal is with two buyers, private equity firm Ardian and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which are expected to acquire stakes of approximately 15% and 10% respectively through separate vehicles. Full completion of an acquisition is subject to applicable regulatory conditions.

Ferrovial pointed out in a media statement at the time that the transaction is also dependent on complying with the right of first offer (ROFO) and full tag-along rights (essentially contractual obligations used to protect minority shareholders). These may be exercised by other FGP Topco shareholders in line with existing agreements and the articles of association of the company.

Luke Bugeja, CEO of Ferrovial Airports, commented: “Over the past 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 an investor. These include overseeing an investment of £12 billion, expanding capacity with the construction of Terminal 2, and improving the airport’s operational performance.”

No doubt, the Spanish infrastructure giant, with operations in more than 15 countries, has played its role in making LHR one of the world’s most connected airports and the busiest gateway in Europe.

The hub’s future looked somewhat precarious at the height of the pandemic when there was an almighty collapse in traffic. However, the airport’s rebound as COVID19 receded has been among the fastest, which led to the need for capping in summer 2022. By the end of this year, Heathrow’s traffic is expected to come close to 80 million passengers. For comparison, numbers in 2019 hit 80.9 million, marking nine consecutive years of growth.

With a new ownership structure looking likely, what does the future hold for the world’s second-busiest international airport?

Investor Insights