Buy-Back of Budapest Airport Is on Track with the Transaction in Its Final Phase

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.04.04.

The repurchase of the airport is still on schedule and the transaction is in the final phase, the Ministry for National Economy told MTI on Wednesday in response to press reports.

According to the Ministry’s statement, an article published on the 444.hu portal on the airport buy-back contains several untruths, deliberate distortions, and fictitious elements, adding to the number of articles with malicious intent.

Photo via Facebook/Budapest Airport

The buy-back of the airport is by far the largest transaction after the end of the communist regime (1989), and is therefore a complex and complicated task, as it is easy to sell the airport, but difficult to buy it back.

It is not unusual for a deal of this size to take years anywhere in the world. Compared to these transactions, the current one is progressing very quickly, according to the statement.

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In negotiations, reaching an agreement with the consortium of lenders is as important as reaching an agreement with the seller.

Therefore, these negotiations took place in parallel, with agreements having to be reached with dozens of banks and international funds.

The international investor and lender community has always welcomed the government’s efforts to reach an agreement in a swift and professional manner, the ministry concluded.

Fact

Since the beginning of September 2023, it has been known that the government made a takeover bid for a majority stake in Budapest Airport Ltd., allegedly for 51%. The specific buyer could be a state-controlled investment company. The minority stake would go to a professional investor, reportedly France’s VINCI Airports, a major airport operator in Europe and in the region. Furthermore, the Qatari state investors (Qatar Investment Authority) could then join as financial or strategic investors. In addition, the national economy minister also told Bloomberg at the end of 2023, that if the deal goes through, the expansion of the airport will be on the agenda and there are plans to build a third terminal.

In October last year, the ministry made changes to the aviation law, preparing the ground for the takeover of the company. Then, in November, the government sold its 15 percent stake in the Hungarian subsidiary of Erste Bank. At the time, Máté Lóga, State Secretary of the Ministry for National Economy, confirmed the speculation that the government sold its stake in order to buy the airport. Furthermore, as Hungary Today previously reported, the state also sold its stake in mobile phone operator Yettel Hungary. The revenue will also be used to purchase Budapest Airport.

The airport was valued at EUR 4.4 billion in the failed state takeover attempt in 2021, but it is not known how much it will be bought for now.

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Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Budapest Airport