MAG boost as BAA ordered to sell airports
MANCHESTER Airports Group’s hopes of a major acquisition were boosted today when the Competition Commission ruled that BAA must sell Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports.
MAG, which tried to buy Gatwick Airport two years ago, is keen on doing a deal if the price is right.
A spokesperson for the Manchester Airports Group said: “We are currently focused on growing our four airports, developing the multi-million pound Airport City at Manchester and on embedding our long term strategy.
“However, the decision by the Competition Commission means that we may look in more detail at these airports if we can be confident that an acquisition will add value for our shareholders.”
The Competition Commission said BAA – owner of Heathrow – would have to begin the sale process in the next three months.
BAA has fought a legal battle to retain all its airports. It appealed the Competition Commission’s original ruling and in February, the Supreme Court refused BAA permission to appeal further.
In a statement today the commission said: “The CC has concluded that the sale of the airports is fully justified and that passengers and airlines would still benefit from greater competition with the airports under separate owner-ship, despite the current Government’s decision to rule out new runways at any of the London airports.
Chairman of the BAA Remedies Implementation Group, Peter Freeman, said:
“We hope that the sales can now proceed without delay so that passengers and airlines can start to enjoy the benefits of greater competition.
“Our report has been challenged, reviewed and upheld and it is clear that the original decision to require BAA to divest three airports remains the right one for customers. It has been a long process whilst BAA has challenged the decision -quite understandably given its significance.
“However, both we and the courts have now exhaustively re-examined the case for the sales and found it to be sound so there are no grounds for delaying further.”
Mr Freeman said the new ownership at Gatwick had “given a foretaste of the benefits competition can bring.”
“We think that these benefits will be all the greater once Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow are all in competition with each other.”
Reflecting the size of Stansted, the commisson said this airport would have to be the first to be sold.
BAA responded angrily to the judgement, chief executive Colin Matthews said the company was “dismayed”.
“The Competition Commission has not recognised that the world and BAA have changed. This decision would damage our company which is investing strongly in UK jobs and growth. We have a responsibility to protect our shareholders’ investment and we will now consider a judicial review of the Competition Commission’s decision.”
