London City Airport has been put up for sale by Global Infrastructure Partners. They have already gone though the first round of offers for the airport and now they have announced they will be accepting bids for the second round in February.
There are five big players circling to buy the 2bn dollar airport. They include Wren House Infrastructure, which is an arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The group also includes Canadian funds Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), Borealis Infrastructure, AIMCo and Hermes, the British investment manager.
Borealis who co-owns the high-speed rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel with OTPP, AIMCo were originally linked with Allianz to submit a proposal, but Allainz pulled out. So now they’ve teamed up with a rival consortium.
It’s not clear which others have been shortlisted, but there is a rumor that Cheung Kung Infrastructure is rumored to have bid in the first round.
GIP announced this past August that they were selling the airport and priced it at 2bn.
Bidders have flocked to the sale, in hopes of being the one to come away with such a prize asset. The relative value and the demand for it will likely drive up the price.
London City airport has proximity to Canary Wharf, and this location makes it easily accessible to the Square Mile. Business travellers often use City airport, and last year the airport carried 3.7m , and that number is only expected to increase. So the value of the airport is definitely on par to increase, giving you much more bang for your buck.