Budapest Airport due diligence called off
Business daily Világgazdaság has been informed by AviAlliance, the majority owner of the airport, that while they have agreed with the shareholders of Budapest Airport to stop the due diligence process, negotiations with the government would continue. The spokesperson of the company reiterated that AviAlliance is an investor committed for the long term.
Avialliance announced in mid-November that the owners of Budapest Airport had entered into a due diligence process with the Hungarian government, which was seen as the potential first step towards a sale of the asset to the state,
It confirmed that the state had made a revised indicative offer to acquire the airport.
AviAlliance, which holds a 55.44% stake in the airport, is owned by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Singapore’s GIC Special Investments and Canada’s Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) each hold a little over 21%.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Monday the state should not acquire Budapest Airport before next year's election, considering high inflation and the volatility of international money markets. "So we'll wait for elections and make a call on this afterwards," he added.
Local media reported in October that Hungary had offered 4.44 billion euros for the airport, a figure which neither its biggest shareholder AviAlliance GmbH, formerly Hochtief AirPort GmbH, nor the government confirmed.
