Thanks for joining me. Saudi Arabia will own 10pc of Heathrow after Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial announced it was offloading its 25pc stake in Europe’s busiest airport.
Ferrovial, which was the transport hub’s largest shareholder, said it has reached a £2.4bn deal to sell its remaining shares to the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Paris-based Ardian, which will take a 15pc holding.
The deal brings to an end Heathrow’s long association with Spanish company, which began with controversy in 2006 when Ferrovial launched a successful hostile bid for BAA, the UK airports operator.
The sale, first mooted in August last year, comes after Heathrow said it recorded its highest-ever September passenger numbers of more than seven million, which also marked the first time it exceeded pre-pandemic traffic figures.
Saudi Arabia’s PIF has become a major investing force around the world as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to diversify’s the Gulf state’s economy away from oil. It aims to hold $2trillion (£1.6trn) in assets by 2030.
Luke Bugeja, head of Ferrovial’s airports business, said: “Over the last 17 years, we have been contributing to Heathrow’s transformation, together with our fellow shareholders, achieving some excellent milestones throughout our long-term role as investor.
“We are very pleased to have made Heathrow one of the world’s most connected airports and the busiest airport in Europe.”
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4) Warren Buffett’s right-hand man Charlie Munger dies aged 99 | The duo were famed for their long run of outperforming the American stock market
5) Jeremy Warner: The Brexit betrayal is complete: surging migration is becoming an economic burden | Without the promise to take back control of Britain’s borders, Leave would not have won
What happened overnight
The S&P 500 index of 500 listed American companies was up 0.098pc yesterday at 4,554.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading US companies rose 0.24pc to 35,416.98, while the Nasdaq Composite index, which is skewed towards technology businesses, rose 0.29pc to 14,281.76.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds declined five basis points to 4.33pc after comments by US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who votes on US interest rates. He said: “I am encouraged by what we have learned in the past few weeks – something appears to be giving, and it’s the pace of the economy.” Economic data from October “are consistent with the kind of moderating demand and easing price pressure that will help move inflation back to 2pc”, he told a conference.
Asian stocks briefly made one-week highs on Wednesday, bonds rallied and the dollar sank on new hints at US interest rate cuts.
In New Zealand, the dollar jumped after its central bank said another hike may be necessary if inflation proves stubborn. The New Zealand dollar was last up 1.1pc at a four-month high of $0.6207, having blown past resistance.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5pc in early trade before weakness in Hong Kong tech shares dragged it back to flat. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.2pc.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
