The battle for controlling the Indian aviation space is just heating up. GVK Airport Developers, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd, on Thursday said it has acquired a 12 per cent stake in Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) from Zurich Airport for Rs 484.6 crore. Zurich Airport operates the Bengaluru International Airport.
“Currently we have just bought the 12 per cent but gradually we would buy the entire 17 per cent of Zurich Airport. We will also then look into buying the stake of L&T and gradually we will look into Siemens,” said GV Krishna Reddy, chairman and MD of GVKPIL.
GVK says its partnership with Zurich Airport Group is a long-term strategy for strengthening its position as a major infrastructure player for developing airports with also a stable partner for operating those airports.
"We will be bidding jointly for airport projects with GVK and we see this tie up as strategic move for getting our focus as an airport operator airports in India," said Daniel Schmucki, CFO of Zurich Airports.
Sitting on cash, GVK is looking to go international with this partnership and also will hive off airports as a separate vertical to be listed separately.
"We have a tie up with Zurich Airport for developing Airports in south east Asia. They also have presence in Africa and we will also use this as an opportunity,” said Reddy.
GVK has made the move at the right time, it has the money and it also now has the expertise to go big as an airport developer.
The partnership is a good fit for both one a major airport operator and another as a major infrastructure developer. The battle for control of the Indian skies on the ground is just heating up.