By Carla Canivete
Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The Portuguese government Thursday said it has short-listed five
bidders for the privatization of its airport operator
ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal SA, after receiving proposals of up to
EUR2.6 billion.
Bids came from French construction company and highway operator
Vinci SA (DG.FR), Zurich airport operator Flughafen Zuerich AG
(FHZN.EB), German airport operator Fraport AG (FRA.XE), Argentine
airport operator Corporacion America and Colombia's Odinsa, with
some of them heading consortiums. The companies must present
binding offers by mid-December.
In a news conference after the government's weekly cabinet
meeting, Portugal's Treasury Secretary Maria Luis Albuquerque said
some bids represented "12 to 13 times" the company's earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2011.
The average multiple of recent deals in the sector, according to
government and airline officials, is eight times 2011 Ebitda.
The sale is part of a series of privatizations Portugal has
submitted to secure a EUR78 billion bailout package from the
European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Write to Carla Canivete at djmadrid@dowjones.com