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BAC: consortium participates in Brussels Airport

  • Infrastructure projects
  • Transport
brussels-airport-pmv

PMV has been the catalyst for grouping Belgian institutional capital seeking local regulated infrastructure assets to complement their portfolios.

PMV joined a consortium in late 2019 to acquire Australian investment group Macquarie’s stake in Brussels Airport. To do so, PMV grouped capital from Belgian institutional investors into a holding company to create sufficient scale to join the consortium, albeit as a minority shareholder. Investors in the holding company include Pensioenfonds Metaal, insurance group Patronale Life, pension manager Pensioenfonds Bouw and infrastructure fund Epico.

Brussels Airport Company (BAC) is our country’s largest airport with around 25 million passengers and 732,000 tonnes of cargo on an annual basis. In 2018, BAC realised a turnover of €568.7 million and an EBITDA of €330 million. Brussels Airport is the second economic growth engine of Belgium and Flanders with 64,000 (in)direct jobs and 1.8% of Belgium’s GDP. The transaction could be completed positively following a renewal of the licence by the federal government and approval by the European Anti Trust Commission.

Strategic asset

The consideration to take a stake in BAC is not only at the level of the airport an interesting investment in a regulated infrastructure asset, but equally from its importance to the Belgian and Flemish economy in particular. PMV has been the catalyst for grouping local capital to play a role in the acquisition of the Macquarie stake: BAC is an important employment pool and, with its central location within Europe, plays a crucial role in international logistics and the success of specific Flemish sectors.