In the first step the state will take an 80% share in the airport operator, with French airport management company Vinci acquiring the remaining 20%.

Later, Qatari investors could buy up to 29% of the shares, reducing the state’s stake in the airport operator to 51%.

In another option, 24 writes that Qatari ownership in the operator of Budapest’s international airport will be linked to the construction of a third terminal.

Before the pandemic, Bloomberg estimated the value of Budapest Airport, one of the fastest-growing airport hubs in the region, to be around €4 billion.

Thus, the price tag for Hungary could come to €2 billion, or roughly Ft 778 billion, exceeding the Ft 660 billion acquisition of Vodafone in late 2022.

The government will finance the airport acquisition with loans from state development bank MFB and state-owned EXIM bank, as well as budgetary sources and proceeds from the sale of state assets, Economy Minister Márton Nagy said earlier.

Hungary generated Ft 270 billion last year from the sale of its 15% stakes in both Erste Bank Hungary and Yettel Magyarország, and by reducing its holdings in the local businesses of the Vienna Insurance Group from 45% to 10%.

The current owners of Budapest Airport are a three-party consortium comprising German airport operator AviAlliance (with 51%), Singaporean investment fund Malton (29%) and the Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot (20%).

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