Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said on Thursday that a deal to sell its shares in Aeroporto de Guarulhos participações (Grupar) had failed.
Grupar is the main international airport serving São Paulo, Brazil.
On October 9, 2020, investors were informed of a non-binding offer received from Invepar, a private urban mobility and transit infrastructure management company in Latin America, to acquire Acsa’s equity ownership in Grupar.
Amid the Covid financial fallout Acsa was on a drive to dispose of some of its assets to raise at least R2 billion in a bid to shore up its liquidity position after it swung into a R2.6bn loss for the year ending March 31, 2021.
It narrowed the loss, reporting a R1bn loss for the year ended March 31, 2022, with traffic volumes remaining below pre-pandemic levels.
Acsa owns 20% of the total outstanding and voting shares in Grupar. Grupar is the holder of 51% of the outstanding share capital stock of Concessionária do Aeroporto Internacional de Guarulhos (GRU). Acsa’s shareholding in the GRU Concession is 10.2%.
The share sale transaction was subject to the fulfilment of all condition precedents including approval by lenders of the GRU Concession.
“Investors are hereby advised that the lenders of GRU Concession refused to grant approval for the share sale. Therefore, Acsa will retain its 20% shareholding in Grupar and 10.2% shareholding in GRU,” Acsa said.
Last year Acsa sold its 10% stake in India-based Mumbai International Airport for around R1.3bn following the demise of Jet Airways in India in February 2019, which had led to a loss of aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenues in Mumbai International Airport.
Meanwhile, last week Acsa rebuffed an unsolicited R2bn bid by billionaire private investor Rob Hersov and his business partner, Nick Ferguson, who wanted to buy six regional airports owned by the state.
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