When to sell an airport's shares in its ground-handling company

Abstract

GlobeGround Berlin is one of the major ground-handling companies in Germany. Since the late 1990s, GlobeGround Berlin had been owned by Berlin Airports (51 per cent) and Lufthansa (49 per cent). Based on a strategic assessment of the investment, the two shareholders decided to sell their shares in GlobeGround Berlin in 2007. Following a year-long public tender process, WISAG, a German facility management company, was selected as buyer. The deal was closed in June 2008. This is the first time a German airport has sold all its shares in its ground-handling company.