COLOMBIA. Mexico’s Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) is to acquire the controlling interest in airport operators Airplan and Aeropuertos de Oriente for an aggregate price of US$262 million.
Airplan operates the following Colombian airports: Enrique Olaya Herrera and José María Córdova International in Medellín; Los Garzones in Montería; Antonio Roldán Betancourt in Carepa; El Caraño in Quibdó; and Las Brujas in Corozal.
Oriente also operates a number of airports in Colombia: Simón Bolivar International in Santa Marta; Almirante Padilla in Riohacha; Alfonso López Pumarejo in Valledupar; Camilo Daza International in Cúcuta; Palonegro International in Bucaramanga; and Yariguíes in Barrancabermeja.
ASUR operates Cancun Airport and eight others in Mexico, and is a 50% joint venture partner in Aerostar Airport Holdings, operator of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan.
The acquisitions are subject to regulatory approval by Colombian authorities such as the National Infrastructure Agency (Agencia Nacional de Infraestructura), which grants airport concessions.
If the acquisitions are completed, ASUR will own approximately 92.42% of the capital stock of Airplan and 97.26% of the capital stock of Oriente. ASUR said it expects Airplan and Oriente and their respective subsidiaries to be consolidated within the company’s financial statements.
ASUR will fund the acquisitions with a combination of cash in hand and financing, while the final purchase price remains subject to customary closing adjustments.
The airports operated by Airplan and Oriente served approximately 10.4 million passengers and 5.2 million passengers respectively in 2016.
The concessions held by Airplan and Oriente have a term depending on the amount of revenues generated by the relevant airports. In the case of Airplan, the concessions have a minimum term until 2032 and a final expiration date of 2048. In the case of Oriente, the concessions have a minimum term until 2033 and a final expiration date of 2049.
