GIP reportedly looks to sell London City Airport

The sale of the airport, owned by New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners and Oaktree Capital, could be valued at as much as 2 billion pounds (U.S. $3.09 billion), according to media reports.    New York-based private equity Global Infrastructure Partners intends to sell its majority stake in London City Airport, and has begun shopping banks to assist it with the sale, according to media reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal.
   GIP has owned the popular passenger airport near the heart of London since 2006 in partnership with Oaktree Capital, which owns a 25 percent share. Oaktree will also divest its minority stake, according to GIP’s Director of Transport Michael McGhee
   McGhee said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal he believes London City will attract strong bids as it is one of the few airports up for sale and quality infrastructure investments are hard to come by. “At the moment, the demand for quality infrastructure assets is high, so we believe it is a good time to sell this particular asset,” he told the paper.
   GIP doesn’t publish financial reports for London City, but WSJ said the deal could be worth as much as 2 billion pounds (U.S. $3.09 billion).
   The firm also owns London Gatwick airport just south of the city and Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, but GIP is not looking to divest ownership of either airport at this time, according to McGhee.