A private equity fund based in France called Ardian will buy an extra 15% of its parent company, FGP Topco.
Since 2006, Ferrovial has had a stake in the project. The company said the deal was worth £3bn (£2.37bn).
The firm says that the deal is still subject to legal conditions.
If the deal goes through, Ferrovial will no longer have a stake in the UK airports provider. Their stake started at 56% but dropped to 25% by 2013.
Qatar Investment Authority, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Singapore’s GIC, the Australian Retirement Trust, China Investment Corporation, and Universities Superannuation Scheme are some of the other groups that have a stake in FGP Topco.
This year, the airport has been losing money because it has a lot of debt, and the cost of getting money has been going up quickly.
Additionally, the Civil Aviation Authority has chosen to lower the fees that passengers pay. These fees help pay for things like airport buildings, runways, baggage systems, and security.
The average fee for each passenger at Heathrow in 2023 is £31.57. However, the government said that this would drop to £25.43 in 2024 and “remain broadly flat” until the end of 2026.
It is thought that Heathrow managers wanted fees to go up to more than £40, but airlines said they shouldn’t go up more than £18.50.
