Today it was announced that Gatwick Airport, the 2nd largest in the United Kingdom, lets just not mention the drones lol has been sold to Vinci Airports for £2.9bn, $3.67bn, €3.21bn with Vinci acquiring a 50.01% stake in Gatwick Airport Limited from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), who acquired the airport in 2009. GIP will retain a 49.99% stake.
The deal would make Gatwick the largest airport in Vinci’s portfolio of airports, which will soon grow to 46 airports in 12 countries, and currently include Portugal, France, Japan, Cameroon, Chile, and the Dominican Republic - with total traffic of about 228 million passengers a year. This deal comes not too long after Vinci’s takeover of Airports Worldwide’s portfolio earlier this year, which included Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland, and various stakes in 12 airports across the United States.
US-based GIP said it expected the transaction to be completed “by the middle of next year”. The current executive team at Gatwick, including chief executive Stewart Wingate, is to be unchanged under the acquisition.