SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Airports (MAp), a global airport investment fund, said on Monday it may sell its stake in Birmingham airport to focus on other investments.
MAp's Macquarie Airports Group (MAG) and the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) were exploring the sale of their combined 48.25 percent indirect interest in the airport, the company said.
MAp has a 15.5 percent direct stake in the airport which it said was worth A$208 million (83.38 million pounds) at June 30 last year. MAG has a total interest of 24.1 percent.
Demand for UK airport assets has soared in the past year following a boom in air travel.
"Any decision to proceed with a divestment of the combined interest will be dependent upon the quality of the offers that might be received," MAp said in a statement.
A MAp spokeswoman said Birmingham made up 3 percent of its total portfolio and contributed about the same amount to earnings.
MAp, which has larger interests in airports in Sydney, Rome, Bristol, Brussels and Copenhagen, wants to focus on its more substantial investments.
European airports have been drawing investors attracted by stable, long-term income streams thanks to a boom in air travel and predictions that the number of passengers in the region will double to 2 billion by 2020.
Last year Spain's Ferrovial snapped up Britain's BAA Plc, which owns London's Heathrow Airport, in a 10.1 billion pounds ($19.79 billion) bidding war and a U.S. financial consortium bought London City Airport.
($1=.5104 Pound, A$1.28)
Source: Scotsman.com
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