ASUR Secures Shareholder Backing for 20-Airport Acquisition

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR) has secured shareholder approval to proceed with the acquisition of a portfolio of 20 airports across Brazil and three other countries, authorizing the company to finance and execute a transaction that would significantly expand its footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The approval was granted at ASUR’s general shareholders meeting held Monday in Mexico City. In a filing to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV), the company said shareholders authorized ASUR, “directly or indirectly, to incur debt and enter into the contracts and agreements necessary and/or convenient to implement” the acquisition. ASUR expects the transaction to close in the first half of the year, following the shareholder vote.

The deal involves the purchase of up to 100% of the shares of Companhia de Participações em Concessões (CPC), a subsidiary of Brazilian infrastructure group Motiva Infraestrutura de Mobilidade, formerly known as Grupo CCR. ASUR said the equity value of the transaction is approximately R$5 billion Brazilian, equivalent to about US$936 million to US$946 million, depending on exchange rates. The implicit enterprise value of the operation is R$13.7 billion reais, or roughly US$2.59 billion at current exchange rates.

CPC holds equity stakes in 20 airport concessions located in Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Curaçao. Among the most prominent assets are Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador, and Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica. The portfolio also includes the airport complex in Curaçao, the only commercial airport on the Dutch Caribbean island.

In Brazil, CPC’s holdings include a mix of international and regional airports across several states. These include BH Airport–Confins, which serves the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, as well as the Pampulha airport. The Brazilian portfolio also comprises airports in Curitiba, Foz do Iguaçu, Navegantes, Joinville, Londrina, Bacacheri, Bagé, Pelotas, Uruguaiana, Goiânia, São Luís, Imperatriz, Teresina, Palmas, and Petrolina. CPC is not the sole owner of Confins but is the controlling shareholder of the asset.

Motiva said its airport division comprises the 20 terminals included in the sale and collectively handles slightly more than 40 million passengers per year. The broader Motiva group operates about 40 infrastructure concessions in Brazil, spanning toll roads, urban mobility systems such as metro, rail and ferries, and airports.

ASUR confirmed that the shareholder authorization allows the acquisition to be executed either directly by the company or through subsidiaries or special-purpose vehicles. “The shareholders approved that the airport operator carry out this purchase, valued at approximately US$936 million, directly or through its subsidiaries or special-purpose vehicles,” the company said.

The transaction was first announced in November, following months of market speculation about ASUR’s interest in Motiva’s airport assets. Since the announcement and through the close of trading on Jan. 26, ASUR shares have posted a cumulative gain of 9.2%, according to Investing.com data.