LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - French public facilities developer Vinci has agreed to buy a majority stake in Gatwick airport in the new year.
The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Vinci Airports, will pick up an effective 50.01% stake in Gatwick for £2.9bn, while the remaining 49.99% will be managed by Global Infrastructure Partners.

Vinci said the transaction represented a "rare opportunity" to acquire an airport of "such size and quality" and highlighted the business as being a solid long-term investment.

The French outfit also highlighted "major strategic" benefits, as the deal will allow the group to move into a strongly performing airport located in a globally significant aviation market.

In the twelve months ended 31 March, Gatwick's operator reported total revenues of £764.2m, with an EBITDA of £411.2m.

Chief executive Nicolas Notebaert, said: "Creating synergies and sharing best practices being at the core of our values, the whole Vinci Airports network will benefit from Gatwick Airport's world-class management and operational excellence, which has allowed it to deliver strong and steady growth in a very constrained environment.

"As Gatwick's new industrial partner, Vinci Airports will support and encourage growth of traffic, operational efficiency and leverage its international expertise in the development of commercial activities to further improve passenger satisfaction and experience."

At 0830 GMT, Vinci shares were up 1.16% to €71.32.

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