By Eyk Henning and Patricia Kowsmann
FRANKFURT--The sale of state-owned Portuguese airport operator
ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal S.A. is attracting around ten potential
suitors including German airport operator Fraport AG (FRA.XE),
which has already teamed up with Australian infrastructure funds
IFM, several people familiar with the matter have told Dow Jones
Newswires.
Other potential bidders include the French airport operator
Aeroports de Paris, Turkish airport operator TAV Havalimanlari
Holding A.S.(TAVHL.IS), Singapore's Changi airport, Spanish
infrastructure group Ferrovial as well as infrastructure funds
Global Infrastructure Partners LLC, Macquarie's infrastructure
funds and North American pension funds, these people said.
Information material was sent to around ten potential suitors and
is awaiting first rounds bids in October, one of the people said,
adding binding bids could be due early December.
A spokesman for the Portuguese Government declined to comment. A
spokesman for Fraport confirmed the company has teamed up with IFM
of Australia when contacted by Dow Jones.
If valued at eight times its 2011 earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization, which was the average
multiple of recent deals in the sector according to government and
airline officials, ANA would be worth roughly EUR1.6 billion. The
valuation of ANA will, however, hinge upon the future of
state-owned airline TAP, which uses the Lisbon airport as a hub and
is also up for sale, one of the sources said.
The Portuguese government could either close a deal by the end
of the year or hand the airport operator's management to a private
company, which would, at a later stage, buy the entire airport, one
of the people said. The person added that the government and the EU
are currently discussing this plan.
The targeted sale of the airport by year-end is part of a series
of privatizations Portugal has submitted in order to secure a 78
billion euros ($100.7 billion) bailout package from the European
Union and the International Monetary Fund.
While ANA is attracting a healthy number of parties, the sale of
TAP, which is also to be sold by year-end, has been lackluster.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE) and International Consolidated
Airlines Group S.A. (IAG.LN), which have shown initial interest in
the airline, didn't put bids as they struggle to make their
existent operations cost-effective and profitable. People familiar
with the situation say only three companies have bid for TAP,
including a holding company ran by German Efromovich, chairman of
the Columbian airline Avianca.
Portugal agreed to an austerity program and a series of
privatizations in turn for an aid package from the EU and the IMF.
Finance minister Vitor Gaspar on Wednesday unveiled additional
measures ranging from raising taxes across the board and further
spending cuts to meet ambitious budget targets.
The country has already sold a 21% stake in utility company
EDP-Energias de Portugal S.A. (EDP.LB) for EUR2.7 billion to
China's Three Gorges Corp.
--Jessica Hodgson in London contributed to the report
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@dowjones.com and Patricia
Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@dowjones.com