Source: The Canadian Press

Two of Canada’s largest pension fund managers are remaining mum on whether they will lock horns for an opportunity to purchase part of Ferrovial’s stake in British airport operator BAA.

Canada’s largest pension fund manager, aisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have both expressed interest in infrastructure holdings, but neither company would disclose Monday if they were gunning to buy the 10 per cent that the Spanish infrastructure giant is selling to trim its debts.

Ferrovial is said to be looking for a single buyer for a portion of its ownership in the operator of Heathrow and other U.K. airports. It currently holds a nearly 56 per cent stake.

The Caisse, through Britannia Airport Partners, owns 26.47 per cent of FGP Topco, the parent company of BAA. The remaining 17.65 per cent is owned by a subsidiary of GIC Special Investments.

Caisse spokesman Maxim Chagnon wouldn’t say whether it has first right of refusal to purchase Ferrovial’s stake.

“It’s a private investment in BAA so everything is confidential in that business so we can’t comment on that,” he said in an interview.

“The Caisse never discusses publicly its investment strategies as well we don’t comment on transactions or investment decisions that might be or not be considered.”

Linda Sims of CPPIB also said it doesn’t disclose its investment plans.

In addition to receiving cash, Ferrovial would no longer have to consolidate BAA’s debt on its books because its ownership stake would dip below 50%.

Ferrovial’s $35.2 billion of debt includes $20.8 billion from BAA.

Company chief executive Inigo Meiras said the sale of a minority stake is part of its strategy to establish a market valuation for its assets.

“Heathrow is one of the best infrastructure assets in the world and its resilience has been proven by its performance in the current economic circumstances,” he stated, noting that it is committed to remain a long-term investor in BAA.

Ferrovial is also unloading a 10% stake in Toronto-area toll road Highway 407 through Cintra Infraestructuras.

SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) has exercised its right of first refusal to block the CPPIB’s $894-million bid for the stake. A SNC subsidiary is conducting a public offering to raise money for the purchase.

The BAA consortium, including the Caisse, acquired the operator of Heathrow, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports in 2006.

More than 110 million passengers fly one million flights annually on 240 airlines at the airports in England and Scotland.

BAA recently announced the acquisition of 75% of Budapest airport and has interests in Naples airport and in several airports in Australia and the United States.

The company is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court a lower court’s ruling surrounding the Competition Commission’s investigation of its airport ownership.

The commission had ordered BAA to sell three of its seven UK airports because of monopoly fears.

Last December, it sold Gatwick Airport to Global Infrastructure Partners, the fund backed by Credit Suisse and General Electric for 1.5 billion Pounds, 25% less than what BAA had expected.

For the six months ending June 30, BAA had an after-tax loss of 260.2 million Pounds on 957.6 million Pounds of revenue.