Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) has announced that it will sell 50.01% of London Gatwick Airport’s (LGW) shares to French company Vinci Airports.
The transaction, valued at £2.9 billion (US $3.68 billion), will be completed in mid-2019.
In a statement, Gatwick’s Chief Executive Stewart Wingate confirmed that there will be no immediate changes to the airport’s operations.
45.7 million passengers travelled through London Gatwick Airport in 2018, making it the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the eighth busiest airport in Europe. It is also the world’s largest single-runway airport. Gatwick Airport Group reported a total revenue of £764.2 million in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2018.
This takeover will bring Vinci Airports’ worldwide portfolio to 46 airports, across 12 countires. The 1899-founded parent company, Vinci S.A., is registered in France and employs more than 190.000 people.
Read more: London Gatwick Airport plans to use second runway
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
