BlackRock To Buy Airport Investor Global Infrastructure Partners

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the fund manager whose key assets include investments in Edinburgh Airport, London Gatwick Airport and Sydney Airport, is being purchased by BlackRock for more than $12.5 billion in cash and stock.

The acquisition comprises $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock, with the transaction expected to complete in the third quarter of the year, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

GIP manages more than $100 billion in client assets across infrastructure equity and debt, with a focus on energy, transport, water and waste, as well as digital sectors. The fund was started in 2006 with $500 million each from General Electric and Credit Suisse.

In the aviation industry, GIP has a majority stake in Edinburgh Airport, which it bought from the British Airport Authority in 2012. The Scottish gateway handled more than 14.7 million passengers annually in 2019 before the pandemic and recovered to about 11.2 million in 2022.

The firm also previously held the majority ownership of London Gatwick after acquiring a stake for $2.5 billion in 2009. However, a deal with Vinci Airports was finalized in 2019, resulting in GIP now managing a 49.99% interest in the UK’s second-largest airport, while Vinci holds the remaining stake.

The third airport investment in GIP’s portfolio is Sydney Airport, as part of its involvement with the Sydney Aviation Alliance consortium. The group, which—is comprised of GIP alongside the IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund, the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper and UniSuper—completed a $16 billion deal for the Australian airport in 2022.

In a statement, BlackRock says a “number of long-term structural trends support an acceleration in infrastructure investment,” including airports. “Further, large government deficits mean that the mobilization of capital through public-private partnerships will be critical for funding important infrastructure,” it adds.

“GIP’s deep understanding of the factors and forces driving operational efficiency for long-term value creation have made them a global leader in infrastructure investing,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says. “Bringing these two firms together will create the infrastructure platform to deliver best-in-class investment opportunities for clients globally, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead of us.”