Mexico's ASUR takes control of two Colombian airport operators

Mexican airport operator Aeropuertos del Sureste (ASUR) announced that it agreed to acquire majority stakes in two Colombian airport operators, Airplan and Aeropuertos Oriente for a total US$262mn.

Once the transaction is completed, ASUR will own 92.42% of Airplan and 97.26% of Aeropuertos Oriente, the Mexican company stated in a press release. It expects to finance the transactions with both its own resources and financing.

The deal is subject to obtaining approval from Colombian authorities, including infrastructure agency ANI, which is in charge of airport concessions in that country.

ASUR underlined that the 12 airports operated by the two Colombian companies had total combined traffic of 15.6mn passengers last year.

Each firm currently operates six airports in Colombia. In the case of Airplan, they are: Enrique Olaya Herrera airport and José María Cordova airport (both at Medellín); Los Garzones (Montería); Antonio Roldán Betancourt (Carepa); El Caraño (Quibdó) and Las Brujas (Corozal).

Meanwhile, Aeropuertos Oriente operates Simón Bolivar international airport (Santa Marta), Almirante Padilla airport (Rioacha), Alfonso López Pumarejo airport (Valledupar), Camilo Daza international airport (Cucúta), Palonegro international airport (Bucaramanga) and Yariguíes airport (Barrancabermeja).

ASUR currently also owns 50% of Aerostar Airport Holdings, which operates the Luis Muñoz Marín airport in Puerto Rico.