Gatwick Owner Prepares To Bid For Spanish Airports - Report

The owner of Gatwick and London City airports has teamed up with the owner of Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport and the German insurer Allianz SE (ALV.XE) to bid for airports in Madrid and Barcelona, the Sunday Times reported.

Global Infrastructure Partners LLC is putting together a proposal for the Spanish hubs, as the next round of bids are due by the end of October, the newspaper said without citing sources.

A spokesman for Global Infrastructure declined to comment.

The Spanish government is selling a contract to run the airports as the country grapples to slash its budget deficit. A sale could raise more than EUR5 billion to help patch up the country's finances, the report said.

Spain is offering bidders contracts to run the airports for 20 years, with an option to extend for a further five. Interested parties have to prove they have at least EUR3 billion in assets as well as experience of running an airport, it said.

Other bidders for Madrid's Barajas airport include a group led by Ferrovial SA (FER.MC), owner of Heathrow operator BAA; infrastructure firm Acciona SA (ANA.MC); and a group comprising Singapore's Changi airport and Siemens AG (SIE.XE).

Newspaper Web site: http://www.timesonline.co.uk

-London Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]