Aena case study: Privatization of the largest European airport group

Abstract

Aena, the largest European airport group, was partially privatized through an initial public offering (“IPO”) in February 2015. This IPO was the largest in Europe and the fourth largest worldwide that year. Aena operates in a regulated market in which cash flows are, in theory, stable and predictable. Therefore, we should not have expected significant noise around the fair value. However, that was not the case for Aena. The government set a minimum price for the IPO of €22 per share, the institutional investors who were acting as anchors offered prices in the range of €50-55, and the final IPO price was approximately €60 per share. At the end of 2016, the price increased to €130 per share. The aim of this case study is to disentangle the main aspects that caused the ramp-up in the stock price using financial statement analysis tools and techniques. This case study is suitable for financial statement analysis and corporate finance courses at the intermediate and advanced levels for undergraduate and graduate students. It also allows for a focus on specific topics such as financial analysis, valuation, regulation, and privatizations.