Rival bidders are circling Swissport International and Brookfield Asset Management Inc is the likely buyer in what could be a $3bn sale, according to reports by Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg's unnamed sources close to the matter said that talks are at an "advanced stage" but that they could still break down as other bidders close in on the global leader in ground handling and air cargo services.
Swissport's current owner, the heavily indebted Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, has since January sold or agreed to sell more than $20bn worth of assets around the world, according to Reuters.
Representatives for HNA, Brookfield and Swissport declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
Toronto-based Brookfield describes itself as “a leading global alternative asset manager, focused on investing in long-life, high quality assets across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power and private equity”. It has $285bn of assets under management and “supports the employment” of more than 80,000 people in over 30 countries.
Bruce Flaff, chief executive of Brookfield, told the Financial Times in September, that he expects group assets to double to between $500bn and $600bn in five to 10 years, including more than $100bn in India and China.
“We’re in the business of owning the backbone of the global economy” he said, and the FT noted that “buying where there is distress remains Brookfield’s hallmark”.
Brookfield’s current transport business includes 37 ports in North America, the UK, Australia and Europe, approximately 3,800 km of toll roads in South America and India, and large rail operations in Australia and South America.
Swissport provided ground services to 250m passengers and handled 4.7m tonnes of cargo on behalf of over 850 client companies in 2017.
With a workforce of over 65,000 personnel, it was active at 279 airports in 48 countries across the world. Total revenue increased to EUR 2.8 billion in 2017, with cargo contributing EUR 0.5 billion.
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