$70 here we come...
Macquarie to join Ferrovial to bid for BAA -report
LONDON (Reuters) - Australia's Macquarie Bank is poised to team up with Spain's Grupo Ferrovial SA to launch a hostile bid for British airports operator BAA Plc , The Observer said on Sunday.
The paper said, citing no sources, that a bid for BAA, which owns London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, would be put on the table within days.
"Macquarie and Ferrovial are natural allies. A memorandum of understanding cannot be far away," it quoted an unnamed City source as saying.
Neither the Australian bank, which recently walked away from a 1.5 billion pound ($2.6 billion) bid for the London Stock Exchange , nor the Spanish construction company could immediately be reached for comment.
Analysts have said a bid could be as high as 900 pence, valuing BAA at more than 9.5 billion pounds ($16.6 billion).
Ferrovial said on February 8 it was considering a cash bid for BAA as part of a consortium. Macquarie Airports , a global airport investment fund managed by Macquarie Bank, has been named as a possible rival suitor.
Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that Ferrovial was still finalising a consortium and had not yet made a firm decision to bid.
The Singapore government, Canadian fund manager Caisse de despot et placement du Quebec, and Britain's Star Capital have been tipped as possible consortium partners.
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