The shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA) closed with a gain of 5.62%, at 131.15 pesos per unit, on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) this Monday, after it was announced on Sunday night that Vinci Airports agreed to buy 29.99% of the shareholding of the airport administrator in Mexico for 815 million dollars, including part of the debt.
Upon completion of the agreement, the French construction company Vinci Airports will become the main shareholder of OMA, which manages 13 airports located in the north and center of Mexico, in which it reported a total traffic of 23 million passengers in 2019 and 18 million in 2021.
Specialists explained that the BMV investors rewarded the news for the rebound seen in OMA shares on Monday, since it is a sign of interest in the issuer that presents positive perspectives due to its solid financial results.
“The operation tells us that there is appetite for the company, which validates its good fundamentals, its solid financial statements, a stable structure and a low level of leverage. It has good expectations for the future”, explained Brian Rodríguez, analyst at Monex Casa de Bolsa.
He stressed that another positive aspect, if the agreement were finalized, would represent a premium for OMA of up to 15% with respect to Friday’s market value. Although he clarified that with the rise in its price on Monday, the premium could be around 10 percent.
OMA explained, through a notice to the market, that Fintech Advisory signed an agreement with Vinci Airports to sell 100% of the share capital of Servicios de Tecnología Aeroportuaria (SETA) and Aerodrome Infrastructure, both owned by Mexican businessman David Martínez.
The agreement implies the purchase and sale of 115.8 million shares or 29.9% participation and is equivalent to 15% of the total control shares. The sum of the agreement amounts to 815.4 million dollars.
“The purchase price agreed by SETA is 578.7 million dollars and the price corresponding to the sale of Aerodrome, net of debt, including inter-company debt of Aerodrome with Fintech affiliates, of 236.7 million dollars,” OMA said in the notice. .
The operation is expected to conclude at the end of 2022, since it is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including the corresponding regulatory authorizations.
“As of April 22, Fintech had 30.4% of the total shares of OMA (the remaining 69.6% is in the hands of the investing public, directors and advisors), so the transaction covers practically the entirety of its position in OMA, which could This is due to the fact that its investment period in it ended,” said José Espitia, deputy director of Stock Market Analysis at Banorte.
The fund owned by Monterrey investor David Martínez became the controlling shareholder of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, after the construction company Empresas ICA gave it its stake in 2020.
The foregoing because in June 2016, ICA pledged shares it held in OMA in exchange for a $215 million loan it received from businessman David Martínez, through Fintech Europe.
It expands
For analysts, OMA will add an investor with relevant experience in the operation of airports, since it is one of the main managers of air terminals in the world.
With financial closure, the Vinci Airports network will include more than 70 airports in 13 countries, including France, Portugal, Japan, Cape Verde and Brazil. In these last two nations it recently made airport acquisitions.
“With this operation, Vinci Airports gains a foothold in the third most populous country in the Americas, where the number of passengers in the second quarter of 2022 has already exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The remaining concession period (end of the contract in 2048) will allow the implementation of its long-term partnership model to support the tourism industry and the country’s economic growth,” the French firm said in a note.
OMA is one of the main airport groups in Mexico, it operates and manages 13 terminals in the center and north of the country, including Monterrey, the fifth largest in the country, which represents almost half of the total number of passengers in the company. Other terminals are Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Acapulco, San Luis Potosí, Torreón, Zihuatanejo.
Brian Rodríguez highlighted that OMA is a company that has been recovering ground after the effects it had due to the travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. He foresees that from the third quarter of this 2022 it will begin to report growth similar to the levels prior to the health crisis.
