Saudi's PIF Acquires 10% Stake In Heathrow Airport From Spain's Ferrovial
Saudi Arabia's PIF has finalized a deal to acquire a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings from Spain's Ferrovial.

Saudi's PIF Acquires 10% Stake In Heathrow Airport From Spain's Ferrovial

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has agreed to purchase a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings from Spain's Ferrovial, marking a strategic move in the fund's portfolio expansion in the aviation sector, a statement showed Wednesday.

 

Agreement details

Under the agreement, PIF will acquire a 10% stake in FGP TopCo (TopCo), the holding company of Heathrow Airport Holdings, while French private equity investment Ardian, through its infrastructure funds, will acquire 15% through separate vehicles.

 

The transaction is subject to compliance with Right of First Offer (ROFO) and full tag-along rights, the statement added. The agreement is also subject to certain regulatory conditions that need to be met for the acquisition to be completed.

 

Aviation portfolio

The acquisition of a stake in London's Heathrow Airport aligns with PIF's recent strategy to expand its presence in the aviation sector and diversify its portfolio beyond investments in the oil industry.

 

PIF announced in March the launch of Riyadh Air—a new national carrier in addition to the decades-old Saudi Arabian Airlines. The airline will connect the capital city of Riyadh with over 100 destinations globally and support the gulf country of Saudi Arabia on its journey to expand its footprint in the travel, tourism, and aviation landscape. Following the launch, Riyadh Air registered an order for 39 wide-body 787 jets with US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

 

Riyadh Air is fully owned by PIF and is projected to contribute around $20 billion (SAR 75 billion) to the non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) growth of Saudi Arabia.

 

Other investments

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund revealed on November 28, 2023, that it had secured a loan of up to $5 billion from a consortium of nine leading international banks to finance its many investments spread across a wide range of sectors.

 

This financing agreement came after PIF's recent international sukuk issuance of $3.5 billion, two green bond issuances totaling $8.5 billion—including the first-ever century green bond and the first-ever green bond issued by a sovereign wealth fund—and a $17 billion corporate loan in 2022.

 

Comments

https://aspacnews.com/assets/images/user-avatar-s.jpg

0 comment

Write the first comment for this!