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Vinci [EPA:DG], the French infrastructure group, has confirmed its interest in taking control of the airports operator Aeroports de Paris[EPA:ADP], the Financial Times reported. Chief Executive Xavier Huillard said Vinci had built up an 8% stake in ADP over the past decade with a view to one day assuming control. The deal fits with Vinci’s strategy, the CEO added.

Huillard shrugged off suggestions Vinci might be the only bidder for ADP, stating that sovereign wealth funds and major infrastructure funds are ready to make multi-billion-euro infrastructure investments. He also added that ADP would not be the last opportunity for Vinci to invest in airport assets.

The report also tipped IFM, an investment-management company, and Italy-based Atlantia [BIT:ATL] as possible bidders for ADP.

Ardian, a private equity firm based in Paris, is another potential bidder and has just raised a EUR 6bn infrastructure fund, a second FTreport said, citing two sources directly knowledgeable about the fundraising.

ADP is half owned by the government of France, which plans to start a privatisation process later in the year, the report said. The exact size of the stake to be sold is not known. Bankers believe a full sale by the state may be too tricky politically, the item reported.

One source quoted in the piece said Vinci is increasingly “diffident” regarding the possible privatisation as it realises the current social climate in France makes it difficult for the government to carry out the sale. Some sources privy to relevant insights indicated Vinci may be able to secure “sufficient" control to add value to the business if it can acquire around 25% of ADP, the item reported.

Some sources with close links to the situation said the government might seek to spread the risk by selling one major stake in ADP alongside several smaller stakes. This would enable vetting of suitors’ plans for ADP as well as securing a high sale price, the report said. A sale which includes retail investors is also a possibility, the item reported.

Sources suggested lock-up agreements could be put in place to stop stakes from being sold on, the report said.

ADP operates Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports in Paris, and has a market capitalisation in excess of EUR 16bn, the report noted.

The original reports appeared in print, page 17