Abertis eyes sale of airport operations Abertis, the world's largest toll road operator, is considering selling its airport operations as part of a divestment programme that has seen it dispose of non-core businesses. Francisco Reynés, chief executive of Abertis, said a strategic review was under way to decide whether to dispose of the division, which owns three regional airports in Europe and has concessions or management contracts at 26 others around the world. He refused to comment on the value of the business, although some analysts have suggested it could be worth more than €1bn. Airports accounted for just 8 per cent of the Barcelona-based group's total sales of €4bn in 2012. Their contribution as a percentage of sales will halve when Abertis fully consolidates last year's acquisition of Brazilian and Chilean toll road assets. The company is set to lose control of the concessions it holds for three Bolivian airports, including the country's biggest, in La Paz, after the government last week announced it would nationalise Sabsa, the operator. Mr Reynés said Abertis had been in dispute with the Bolivian government since 2011, having had airport fees frozen since 2001 and wage increases forced on its since 2005 that have seen salaries rise by 140 per cent. He said he was seeking $90m in compensation from the government of Evo Morales, the leftwing president, for past losses and the decision to seize the assets. "We don't question whether a country has the right to [renationalise] but they can't do that without paying us," he said. Abertis is also in talks with the Welsh government after it proposed renationalising Cardiff airport, one of the three Abertis owns, following a sharp drop in passenger numbers in recent years. This is a totally different situation to the one in Bolivia. The Welsh government has its ideas [about how it wants to run the airport] and we are in talks. The attitude [of the Welsh government] is business friendly," he said. The Welsh government has its ideas [about how it wants to run the airport] and we are in talks Francisco Reynés, chief executive, Abertis Mr Reynés said the board would consider a number of options for the airport business, including the disposal of the whole unit, a partial sale that could bring in partners, or by selling some individual assets. In recent years, the heavily indebted group has disposed of its car park and logistics businesses and has also sold down minority stakes in other businesses. Last year, it sold most of its 31 per cent stake in Eutelsat, the French satellite operator, in two separate transactions, as well as its stake in Brisa, the Portuguese toll road operator. Abertis remains focused on its toll road business, the largest in the world with more than 7,500km under management, and is also investing in its telecoms infrastructure business, which owns and operates mobile phone, radio and television networks in Spain. Mr Reynés said he was "comfortable" with the group's net debt position, which stood at €14.1bn at the end of 2012. He said that although it had risen back to 2009 levels because of the Brazilian and Chilean toll roads purchase, that deal had also helped deleverage the balance sheet by cutting the ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from 6.1 to 4.7 times.