BAA backs £10.3bn Spanish takeover
UK airports operator BAA looked set for foreign ownership today after it backed a £10.3bn (€14.9bn) takeover offer from Spanish consortium Ferrovial.
The infrastructure group secured the support of the BAA board last night, although a rival bid team led by US-based investment house Goldman Sachs could still scupper its plans with a better offer.
The value of BAA soared overnight as a midnight deadline for Ferrovial to table a new offer led the UK company into talks with both bid teams.
BAA previously put a value of at least 940p a share on its business, but saw Ferrovial come up with an approach worth 950.25p a share last night. That includes the payment of a BAA dividend worth 15.25p a share.
BAA said the proposal represented an attractive price for the company, which owns seven sites including Heathrow and Gatwick.
Goldman Sachs said it continued to review its options after it said it failed with an approach valuing the company at 955.25p a share, including the dividend of 15.25p a share.
