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Changi Airport Group (CAG), through its
wholly-owned subsidiary Changi Airports International (CAI), has
acquired a 5% stake in Gemina S.p.A., the holding company of
Aeroporti di Roma (AdR).
The Sin$100 million acquisition makes CAI one of
the key shareholders of Gemina S.p.A., which is listed on the
Milan Stock Exchange. It represents CAI’s largest investment to
date and marks a major step forward in CAG’s strategy to expand
overseas as it enters the well-established European aviation
market.
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 12.0% growth in passenger
volumes.
The investment is an integral part of a strategic
industrial partnership to be forged with the shareholders’ pact
of Gemina S.p.A. which includes, amongst others, Investimenti
Infrastrutture (a company of Sintonia S.p.A.), 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, commercial development and master planning. In
addition, CAI will also be represented on the Board of
Directors of both Gemina S.p.A. and AdR.
“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 3 million people and is the primary
gateway to Italy, Europe’s fourth largest economy and
population,” said Mr Lee Seow Hiang, Changi Airport Group’s Chief
Executive Officer. “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.”
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