MBJ Airport sale part of a US$190m deal
Published:Tuesday | April 21, 2015 | 3:41 PM
Abertis, the Spanish company which owns the major part of MBJ Airports 30-year concession for Sangster International Airport, has sold its stake to Mexican company Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP).
GAP said on Monday that it had completed acquisition of 100 per cent of the shares of Abertis subsidiary Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias SL.
Abertis held its which 74.5 per cent interest in MBJ Airports Limited through Desarollo. The other 25.5 per cent is owned by Vantage Airport Group Limited.
The acquisition price for the concession, which has another 18-years on the contract with the Jamaican Government, was not separately disclosed. GAP said it paid US$190.8 million overall for Desarollo and its assets, including a 14.77 per cent stake in SCL Terminal Aereo Santiago SA, which is the operator of the international terminal in Santiago, Chile until September 30, 2015.
GAP's current operations
GAP currently operates 12 airports throughout Mexico's Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis.
Sangster International made revenues of US$59 million in 2014, of which 46.3 per cent were aeronautical and 53.7 per cent were non-aeronautical income. Operating costs for 2014 were US$35.5 million, with an EBITDA of US$23.5 million, representing a margin of 39.8 per cent, said GAP. Net income for the period was US$13.2 million.
The new owner also disclosed that MBJ Airports had net debt of US$60.5 million, of which US$44.9 million were long-term loans from shareholders.
GAP said that it financed 100 per cent of the acquisition via bridge loans with external resources provided by Scotiabank Inverlat and BBVA Bancomer, which will be substituted with short and long-term loans.
Abertis had signalled the pending sale of MBJ Airports a year ago, saying it was part of a global strategy to exit its airport business. The company had refocused its operations on its core business of toll road operation. Abertis has some 7,500 kilometres of toll roads under management.