Virgin Atlantic, Easyjet for joint bid to control Gatwick airport
November 14, 2008
Virgin Atlantic and Easyjet are considering a joint bid to take control of Gatwick airport that has already been put up for sale by BAA. Virgin is already in talks with a group of a few interested parties for the airport bid. The same has been valued at up to £2.5bn by analysts. A decision on Gatwick airport is likely to be taken sometime next year.
Meanwhile, the Competition Commission has stated BAA might need to sell some airports owing to market dominance concerns. “It remains to be seen how much Gatwick airport is actually worth, bearing in mind that we are in the middle of a downturn and also bearing in mind the fact that it needs to be independently verified,” a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic, Paul Charles, told BBC News.
He added:
“We have stated before we are definitely interested in (forming) a consortium. It does not mean that we will put forward all the funds or some of it, or necessarily Easyjet.”
What it does mean, according to Paul Charles, there would likely be a group of a few interested parties they are talking to who would all come together, put in their own expertise to own and operate Gatwick Airport.
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