Ferrovial will buy 49% of the new JFK Airport in New York for 880 million

Ferrovial, through its Airports division, and Carlyle have reached an exclusivity agreement to negotiate the transfer to Ferrovial of 96% of the stake held by Carlyle in New Terminal One, the consortium appointed to design, build and operate the New Terminal 1 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York (which includes the old Terminals 1, 2 and 3 of said airport and possible extensions), in the United States. The amount of the transaction is estimated at nearly 1,000 million dollars (880 million euros).

Carlyle owns 51% in New Terminal One. If an agreement is reached on the transaction, Ferrovial would therefore acquire 96% of said participation, which is equivalent to almost 49% of the total project. The closing of the operation would be subject to the usual conditions in this type of operations, among others the approval of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The new Terminal 1 foresees investments of more than 8,360 million euros and will start operations in 2026

The new Terminal 1 of the JFK International Airport is one of the most important infrastructure projects currently underway, with an estimated investment of 9,500 million dollars (more than 8,360 million euros). The initiative involves the remodeling of terminals 1, 2 and 3 at the old airport, in Queens, and the creation of the new terminal 1. The planned schedule contemplates the start of operations from 2026. The contract contemplates the exploitation of the airport until 2060. The infrastructure is developed over a total area of ​​220,000 square meters and will have 23 international gates.

JFK International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. In 2019, before the pandemic, it registered a record number of 62.6 million users.

Ferrovial will disembark with this purchase in the airport operation business in the United States

In addition to Carlyle, and when the transaction is completed, Ferrovial, the consortium developing the project is also made up of JLC Infrastructure, owned by Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Ullico, an airline consortium. The Spanish group already allied itself with JLC years ago for the remodeling of the Denver Airport, although the authorities withdrew the contract to Ferrovial in full execution of the works due to discrepancies.

Ferrovial will land with this purchase in the airport operation business in the United States, an objective on which it has worked in recent years. In fact, the company run by Rafael del Pino and Ignacio Madridejos has already tried to take over the concession for the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Likewise, it bid for the Westchester County Airport, in the State of New York and participated in the privatization process of the San Luis-Lambert International Airport, in the city of San Luis, in the State of Missouri -although it was suspended-.

Ferrovial’s activity in the airport business in the United States had been limited to its participation in the remodeling and improvement process of the main terminal at Denver International Airport, through its construction division, although the contract was rescinded. It is foreseeable that Ferrovial may also take on the construction portfolio with its entry into the JFK Airport development.

Ferrovial has also agreed to buy 60% of Dalaman Airport, in Turkey, for 140 million

Ferrovial announces the agreement with Carlyle to the market just a few hours after doing the same with YDA Group to acquire a 60% stake in the company that manages the Dalaman International Airport concession in Turkey for 140 million euros.

These two operations, which together represent an investment of more than 1,000 million euros, represent Ferrovial’s first acquisitions in the airport field since 2014. That year it was done together with the Australian fund Macquarie with the airports of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. In this country, it is also the largest shareholder with 25% of London’s Heathrow airport.

Ferrovial thus aspires to participate in the management of six airports in the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey, being present in two of the main airport infrastructures in the world, Heathrow and JFK. It launches this offensive when the worst effects of the Covid pandemic -19 seem to have been left behind and forecasts point to a gradual recovery in traffic.

determined bet

Ferrovial has spent years trying to grow in the Airports division and, in addition to those mentioned in the United States and Turkey, it has participated in some processes in France, India, Australia or Barbados, among others. It also tried to gain control of Aena when the State took the Spanish operator out of the market, but gave up as it was a minority disinvestment in the capital. Currently, it is also interested in live operations such as those at the airports of Nantes, in France, Athens, in Greece, or Catania, in Italy, and closely follows all the opportunities in the United States, its main market in the world where it operates through its Construction, Cintra (highway concessions), Services divisions and, once its entry into the JKF International Airport project is completed, also in Airports.

With the JFK and Dalaman operations, Ferrovial is boosting its global growth by taking advantage of the resources obtained from important divestments such as those of the Services division -in different processes-, its subsidiary specialized in construction materials Southern Crushed Concrete (SCC) Materials, in the United States States, or various concession assets in Spain, Portugal and Colombia, among others. Along the same lines, last year it acquired, through Cintra, a minority stake of 24.6% in the Indian toll road operator IRB Infrastructure for 369 million euros and increased its stake in the I-66 toll road, in Virginia (United States), up to 55.704% by buying 5.704% from John Laing for 159 million euros.