BAA and Stansted

Airport operator BAA, part of the Spanish Ferrovial consortium, has confirmed that it will proceed with the sale of Stansted Airport after deciding not to challenge a UK Competition Commission ruling forcing it to sell.  This is the culmination of a long drawn out battle between the regulators and the airport owners.

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"Having carefully considered the Court of Appeal's recent ruling, BAA has decided not to appeal to the Supreme Court and is now proceeding with the sale of Stansted airport", BAA said in a statement.

In a separate move the State of Qatar has bought 20% of BAA in a deal that gives the Gulf State a huge vested interest in the construction of an extra runway at Heathrow.  Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is paying £900m for the strategic shareholding which gives it two seats on the 14-strong BAA board.  Spain's Ferrovial is BAA's largest shareholder with a 40% stake and heads an ownership consortium now made up of Qatar Holding, GIC Special Investments, Alinda Capital Partners and Britannia Airport Partners.  The Qatar investment would seem to negate any interest in the purchase of Stansted or funding for the proposed new airport in the Thames Estuary. www.baa.com

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