France's Vinci Airports to buy majority stake in London Gatwick for £2.9b

[LONDON] France's Vinci Airports agreed to acquire a majority stake in Gatwick Airport for £2.9 billion (S$5 billion), adding a major London hub to its network.

The purchase of the 50.01 per cent stake is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019, the Rueil Malmaison, France-based company said in a statement on Thursday.

The other 49.99 per cent of the second-largest airport in Europe will be managed by Global Infrastructure Partners, Vinci said.

Gatwick, with total traffic of 45.7 million passengers in 2018, will become the largest single airport in Vinci's global network. Operations at Gatwick descended into chaos earlier this months after drones spotted around the runway led to a prolonged shutdown.

"The transaction represents a rare opportunity to acquire an airport of such size and quality," Vinci said in the statement.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS