Finance PIF ‘interested in Newcastle Airport stake’ By Neil Halligan December 17, 2024, 3:12 PM Alamy/Washington Imaging via Reuters PIF is said to be favourite to take over the 49% stake in Newcastle Airport owned by Infrabridge Frontrunner for 49% share Stake worth £1bn Second UK airport deal Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is understood to be interested in buying a minority stake in Newcastle airport, UK media say. The sovereign wealth fund is believed to be the frontrunner in a deal to buy the 49 percent shareholding owned by Infrabridge, a global infrastructure investment company based in Florida, The Times reports. Local councils will own the remaining stake. JP Morgan is handling the sale of the holding owned by Infrabridge, which has $9 billion in infrastructure equity assets under management. Last week PIF confirmed it had acquired a 15 percent stake in the holding company for Heathrow Airport, FGP TopCo. The stake was purchased from the Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial and other shareholders. UK company to open ‘miracle material’ factory in Saudi Arabia Emirates denies plan to acquire UK travel concierge firm Mubadala weighs buying stake in Heathrow airport While formal talks are yet to take place, PIF is understood to be the favourite to acquire the stake in Newcastle airport, which could be worth as much as £1 billion ($1.3 billion), The Times said. The airport reported an operating profit of £34 million in 2023, up 36 percent on the previous year. Total revenues increased 22 percent to nearly £80 million, the company reported. PIF also owns Newcastle United football club, which it bought for £300 million in 2021. It increased its stake in the football club to 85 percent in July this year.
