PARIS, Sept 26 (Reuters) - France's government is preparing to sell a minority stake in four regional airports and has opened a bidding process to choose a bank to oversee the sale, business daily Les Echos reported on Sunday, citing sources.
The airports to be put up for sale are Lyon, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux, the paper reported, adding that Macquarie Group and industrial investor Vinci were among the candidates to oversee the sale.
The government has pledged to remain a majority owner of the airports until 2013 but private investors could acquire stakes of up to 49 percent, Les Echos said.
Cumulatively the airport stakes are worth hundreds of millions of euros.
Private equity funds are increasingly looking to invest in infrastructure, as European governments upgrade roads and airports in a bid to stimulate their economies.
Editing by Martin Golan Keywords: FRANCE AIRPORTS/ (nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com, +33 1 49 49 51 88, Reuters Messaging: nicholas.vinocur.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The airports to be put up for sale are Lyon, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux, the paper reported, adding that Macquarie Group and industrial investor Vinci were among the candidates to oversee the sale.
The government has pledged to remain a majority owner of the airports until 2013 but private investors could acquire stakes of up to 49 percent, Les Echos said.
Cumulatively the airport stakes are worth hundreds of millions of euros.
Private equity funds are increasingly looking to invest in infrastructure, as European governments upgrade roads and airports in a bid to stimulate their economies.
Editing by Martin Golan Keywords: FRANCE AIRPORTS/ (nicholas.vinocur@reuters.com, +33 1 49 49 51 88, Reuters Messaging: nicholas.vinocur.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.