Changi Airport Group invests in Rome Airports

CHANGI Airport Group (CAG), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Changi Airports International (CAI), has acquired a five per cent stake in Gemina SpA, the holding company of Aeroporti di Roma (AdR), the largest investment for the group's expansion overseas to date.

The S$100 million (US$71.20 million) acquisition makes CAI one of the key shareholders of Gemina, which is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. "With this investment, CAG becomes the first Asian operator to invest in a European capital city airport with a substantial strategic role. Rome, one of Europe's leading capitals, has over three million people and is the primary gateway to Italy, Europe's fourth largest economy and population," said CAG chief executive officer Lee Seow Hiang in a company statement.

AdR owns the concession to operate Italy's largest airport group, comprising the Leonardo da Vinci Airport and the Giovan Battista Pastine Airport (also known as Fiumicino and Ciampino airports respectively). Both airports serve the capital city of Rome, and together, handled over 38.6 million passengers and 382,082 aircraft movements in 2009.

Leonardo da Vinci Airport is the sixth largest hub in Europe, handling more than 33.8 million passengers last year. In January 2010, AdR continued its strong recovery from the global economic crisis as it registered 12 per cent growth in passenger volumes.

The investment is an integral part of a strategic industrial partnership to be forged with the shareholders' pact of Gemina, which includes, among others, Investimenti Infrastrutture (a company of Sintonia SpA), Mediobanca, Assicurazioni Generali and UniCredit.

Under the proposed industrial partnership, CAI will play a key role in the future expansion and development of the Rome airport group by establishing a long-term technical partnership with AdR to provide management support in areas such as airport operations, Media Release commercial development and master planning.

In addition, CAI will also be represented on the board of directors of both Gemina SpA and AdR.

Said Mr Lee: "CAG is proud to be associated with AdR's ambitious plan to develop the airports into world-class assets. We will leverage our experience and expertise to assist AdR and look forward to working with the shareholders and management of Gemina and AdR to achieve the full development and commercial potential of the Rome airports."

(Source:www.schednet.com)