BBC NEWS | Business | BAA ends talks with Goldman Sachs

BBC NEWS | Business | BAA ends talks with Goldman Sachs: "BAA ends talks with Goldman Sachs

Soon to be in Spanish hands?
Airports operator BAA, which agreed a �10.3bn takeover offer from Spain's Grupo Ferrovial this week, says it has ended talks with a rival suitor.
Discussions over a rival bid from a consortium backed by Goldman Sachs had 'ceased', BAA said.
Its announcement came only 20 minutes after Goldman Sachs had insisted its discussions with BAA were on-going
The news came as BAA reported it had seen 12.8 million passengers pass through its terminals in May.
Bid battle
Ferrovial beat off competition from the consortium led by the US bank, which said it had made a higher offer.
Airports have become an attractive investment target because of the surge in air travel worldwide.
BAA said passenger figures for May were up 3.6% year-on-year, or 3.2% if the effect of a later Easter is taken into account.
Long-haul flights excluding North America rose by 11%, but there was a 10.6% fall in European charter flights.
Aberdeen and Stansted saw the largest gains in passenger numbers, while 5.7 million travellers journeyed via Heathrow, a rise of 1.4%.
Glasgow was the only airport to carry fewer passengers than the same month a year before.
Among the fastest-growing routes were those to China and India which grew 49% and 58% respectively.
Last month BAA promised a �9.5bn investment programme in its three London airports - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - over the next 10 years and said passenger numbers at the three airports were set to rise by 3% a year during that period. "