The queue of suitors outside the holding company's door is getting shorter, with about ten days remaining from the presentation of the bids binding offers scheduled for July 1, to win the 49% share. And there are only two left to compete for the morsel estimated at between 800 million and one billion.
As is known, the minority stake is being put up for sale by the French private equity giant Ardian e Credit Agricole Assurances, which entered into 2015 with an investment of around 400 million, alongside F2i which instead has 51%, which already last February had involved Mediobanca, Intesa Sanpaolo and CA Cib as advisors. At that time the value of the share put up for sale by the two funds was estimated at around billion of euros, now we are talking about instead about 800 million.
As time has passed, the group of potential buyers has been significantly reduced and now, according to what MF-Milano Finanza understands, only the Spanish fund should participate in the final auction Asterion and the Canadian Pension Fund Caisse de dépot et placement du Quebec (Cdpq).
What's in the 2i Airports box
2i Airports is an important infrastructural asset in the panorama of Italian airports: owns 100% of Sagat (with the airport of Turin Caselle), 83,1% of Gesac (airports of Naples Capodichino and Salerno), 55% of Trieste Airport (Ronchi dei Legionari), 36,39% of Sea (the management company of the Lombardy airports of Milan Linate and Malpensa) and 4,09% of the airport Bologna.- Furthermore, with F2i Aeroporti 2 sgr it controls 71,25% of Sogeaal (airport of Alghero) and 80% of Geasar (airport Olbia Costa Smeralda).
As abroad, also in Italy risk of airports is showing signs of vitality thanks to the strong recovery in passenger traffic. The insurance companies Swiss Life and Allianz and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) fund had also moved on the dossier with non-binding offers. According to rumors, in the initial stages of the process the operation was also studied by large sovereign funds such as Adia of Abu Dhabi and Gic and Temasek of Singapore. Furthermore, Brookfield and JP Morgan asset management, British Columbia investment also appeared in the pool of suitors. Some sources also report the interest shown by Interogo, belonging to the Kamprad family, owners of Ikea.
Il step back of many potential buyers, MF reports, is linked to the technical characteristics of the operation: a minority (49%) of a portfolio of assets was put up for sale, in which approximately 70% of the enterprise value is in turn represented from the 36% minority of Sea: a company of which the City of Milan, a 54,8% shareholder, does not intend to give up control.
