Jaunted

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Who Wants To Buy An Airport?

Got a couple bil lying around? Flaunt your wealth with a transportation portal that's all yours. London's second-largest airport is for sale, and while you just missed the initial bid deadline, it's still up for grabs.

British Airports Authority was ordered to sell Gatwick Airport after British courts ruled that the company's holding of three London-area airports constituted a monopoly. Six bids have been entered, including, as Joe Sharkey noted, a coalition which includes bailed-out bank Citigroup and who currently leases Chicago's Midway Airport. Other bidders include Manchester Airports Group and a German construction company.

BAA was expecting to get in the neighborhood of $2.7 billion for Gatwick, but the private bids are rumored to be more in the neighborhood of $2.33 billion. That's almost 15 percent off! Whatta deal! But the trappings we envision would be bundled with a personal airport are probably more fantasy than reality (no more security queues and in-terminal Starbucks only serves your favorite drinks, to begin with). One thing's for sure, we'd be a lot more optimistic if Richard Branson had entered a bid, as was the rumor last fall. There's always a first time to fly into Virgin Airport.

Related Stories:
· Sovereign wealth giant ADIA drops out of Gatwick race [Times Online via Joe Sharkey]
· Will Richard Branson Buy Gatwick? [Jaunted]
· LGW coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: johann-in-london]