Saudi Arabia’s PIF to buy stake in London’s Heathrow Airport, joins Singapore’s GIC, Qatar wealth funds in ownership

The Saudi public fund would join existing owners including Qatar, which holds 20 per cent, and Singapore’s GIC sovereign wealth fund, which has an 11.2 per cent stake

Heathrow is a major destination for flights from the Gulf region, with Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways serving the hub with multiple arrivals a day

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Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial announced it is offloading its remaining 25 percent stake in London’s Heathrow Airport to a French private equity group and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:22pm, 29 Nov 2023Updated: 2:15am, 30 Nov 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will buy a 10 per cent stake in London Heathrow Airport as part of a shareholder reshuffle, becoming a partial owner in one of Europe’s busiest airports alongside the Qatar Investment Authority.

The fund is buying the stake as Spain’s Ferrovial sells down its 25 per cent holding. The remaining 15 per cent held by the infrastructure firm will go to Ardian, a Paris-based private equity firm, according to a statement late Tuesday.

For Ferrovial, the deal represents a £2.37 billion (US$3 billion) windfall for an asset it had previously valued at zero.

The Public Investment Fund, better known as the PIF, has become a major investing force around the world as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, reshapes the oil-rich country with his own brand of state capitalism.

The fund, part of a consortium that bought Vodafone Group Plc’s towers unit in 2022, aims to reach US$2 trillion in assets by 2030. That would make PIF the world’s largest wealth fund, a title now held by Norway’s oil fund.