The owners of Luton Airport have agreed to sell their stake to a consortium headed by another Spanish company.
TBI, a company 90 per cent owned by abertis and Aena Internacional, with a 10 per cent stake, has agreed to sell to a consortium formed by Aena (51 per cent) and AXA Private Equity (49 per cent).
The €502m (£433m) equity and debt transaction is subject to authorisation by European competition authorities, Luton Borough Council as the contracting authority, and the Spanish Board of Ministers.
Luton Airport, which has just celebrated its 75th anniversary, had been part of abertis’ portfolio since 2005, when the company and Aena Internacional purchased the British operator TBI. But albertis is now revising what it owns to “optimise the company’s asset base”.
The sale comes as a planning application to expand the operation remains to be decided.
A statement from Aena said Luton Airport which currently handles 9.6 million passengers each year has “high growth potential”.
The transport hub is the sixth airport in the Aena network, behind Gran Canaria and ahead of Alicante in size.
Aena said the transaction amount for it is £394.2million in equity and is part of its aim to increase its international presence in airports.