Government Aims to Make the Newly Acquired Airport the most Successful in Central Europe

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of Vinci Concessions, held a meeting in Paris on Tuesday, Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief, informed the press.

As Hungary Today reported, following more than a year of intensive negotiations, the sale and purchase agreement of Budapest Airport Ltd. was signed on June 6, 2024. “The Hungarian State does not operate the airport, but is present as a financial and strategic investor,” explained the Ministry for National Economy in a statement in mid-June. The purchase price paid for the shares was settled on a pro rata basis. In total, this means that the Hungarian state paid EUR 2.48 billion for an 80 percent stake, while VINCI paid EUR 620 million for a 20 percent stake.

At the Paris meeting, the parties reviewed the development plans for Budapest airport. Over the next ten years, more than EUR 1 billion will be invested in the airport, including the construction of a new terminal.

Vinci has committed to develop Liszt Ferenc International Airport as the most successful airport in Central Europe,

the press chief said.

24.hu reported recently that the board of directors of Budapest Airport has been set up since the acquisition. As they write, almost simultaneously with the announcement, the entire board of directors and supervisory board of Budapest Airport resigned, and the decision on the new composition of the boards was made in the form of a founding resolution.

Máté Lóga, State Secretary for Economic Development and National Financial Services of the Ministry of National Economy, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Budapest Airport by the state-owned Corvinus International Investment Ltd., which holds an 80 percent stake. Other members of the Board will be

• Ferenc Antal, Deputy State Secretary for Strategic Transactions at the Ministry for National Economy,
• László Parragh, President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and
• Zoltán Guller, Chairman of the Board of Hungarian Tourism Agency.

Vinci Airports, holding a 20 percent stake, has appointed one member to the Board of Directors, Emmanuel Robert Menanteau, who will be responsible for the airport management company’s interests in the U.S., Northern and Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

According to Airportal, Francois Philippe Pierre Bérisot, the current CEO of Belgrade Airport, will join Budapest Airport as an employee with independent company representation. Andrea Torzsa, CEO of Corvinus Zrt., Anikó Túri, State Secretary for Public Administration at the Ministry for National Economy and Tibor Szabó-Szombati, lawyer, will represent the state on the Supervisory Board of Budapest Airport. The French party has delegated Rémi Guy Ferdinand Maumon-Falcon de Longevialle, who has been CFO of Vinci Airports since 2018, to the Supervisory Board.

Via MTI, 24.hu, Airportal; Featured image: Facebook/Budapest Airport