Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The Spanish Acquisition continues...

BAA accepts takeover bid from Ferrovial

June 6, 2006

By JANE WARDELL,
The Associated Press
Copyright 2006

LONDON - BAA PLC, which operates seven airports in Britain, said Tuesday it has accepted a 10 billion pound ($19 billion) takeover bid from a consortium led by Spanish airport operator and engineering company Ferrovial SA.

The announcement came a day after BAA, which operates London‘s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, confirmed that it was in talks with Ferrovial and with another consortium.

The Takeover Panel, an independent body that administers London‘s code on mergers and takeovers, had on Tuesday extended the deadline until June 16 for Ferrovial to announce a firm intention to make an offer for BAA or to walk away.

The Ferrovial consortium also includes Canadian investment fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and Singapore government fund GIC.

In a filing with the Spanish stock market supervisor, the CNMV, Ferrovial said the shares in the new company would be listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

The Goldman Sachs-led group made a preliminary offer of 870 pence a share in May, which BAA rejected. Britain‘s Competition Commission last week issued a "put up or shut up" order to the group, giving it a deadline of June 9 to come forward with an offer.

BAA owns and operates airports that handle 63 percent of travelers to and from Britain, a figure that rises to 86 percent in Scotland — where BAA runs airports at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen — and to 92 percent in London.

The company‘s international business includes managing the Indianapolis airport, and retail management at Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Boston-Logan airports.

The company also manages 19 toll roads in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Chile, Canada and the United States, and is a partner with the state of Texas in designing the $175 billion Trans-Texas Corridor railway and highway project.

© 2006 The Associated Press: www.ap.org

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