Hungary to sell Budapest airport stake

A recent government decision has approved plans for Hungary to divest its stake in Budapest Airport, the company which operates the city’s Ferihegy Airport. The decision has appeared in the latest issue of the Hungarian Gazette and is dated June 9.

The government has cleared the way for exercising a put option on the stake and has granted approval to bypassing a tender procedure for the sale of the asset.

The procedure will be initiated by the Minister for National Development via the National Asset Management Agency with immediate effect. The news comes as a surprise as earlier press reports claimed the airport would be re-nationalized in mid-2010.

In online news on Wednesday, weekly Heti Válasz reported the state of affairs was likely to reach a stage when the government is able "re-nationalize" the airport operator in a "market conform" fashion in July or August, noting that Spain’s Grupo ACS will by then have become a majority stakeholder in Germany’s Hochtief. The latter is the leading partner in a consortium which majority owns Budapest Airport. Grupo ACS expected to sell all airport assets in its portfolio after assuming a controlling position in Hochtief, Heti Válasz had claimed.

In its print version on Thursday, Heti Válasz also mentioned the possibility of Chinese investors taking over Budapest Airport due to the city being a strategic destination for China.

The newspaper claimed the unnamed Chinese investors have already submitted plans for a fast train link between the city centre and the airport, and are "allegedly" ready to acquire Hungary’s former flagship airline Malév. "The Ministry for National Development is not commenting on press reports," the ministry responded to inquiries.