Aer Rianta has confirmed it considered bidding for Sydney International Airport in a deal likely to be worth more than £2 billion (€2.54 billion).
The State-owned airport authority confirmed that in recent weeks its subsidiary Aer Rianta International examined the possibility of investing in Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, which had been put up for sale by the Australian government.
A spokesman for Aer Rianta said the company had been aware for some time Kingsford Smith Airport was to be sold. He confirmed that making a bid for the airport had been mooted several times in recent weeks. He added the company now had no plans to make a formal bid.
"At this stage, we are looking at consolidating the assets we have rather than expanding," he said.
Aer Rianta has just announced plans to build a £100 million internal rail line at Dublin Airport. It also plans a new £300 million terminal at the capital's airport.
In 1997, Aer Rianta made an unsuccessful bid to enter the Australian market. It joined with Australian industrial companies Lend Lease and Brambles in the Australian Airport Services consortium and made a three billion Australian dollar (€1.65 billion) bid for Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne Airports.
In recent days Aer Rianta has been mentioned in Australian media as a likely interested party when Sydney airport is sold some time later this year.
Overseas groups, such as Aer Rianta, are restricted to taking a maximum stake of 49 per cent in the airport which is expected to fetch around Aus$4.5 billion. z Aer Rianta International already has a 40 per cent stake in Birmingham International Airport, which it holds with NatWest Ventures. Along with another consortium partner, Hochtief in Germany, the company also holds a 50 per cent stake in Dusseldorf and Monchengladbach Airports.
