Skanska sells stake in LaGuardia Airport Terminal B for $115m

Skanska designed and built the new Terminal B building at LaGuardia Airport in New York (Image courtesy of Skanska)

Swedish construction giant Skanska has sold its ownership stake in LaGuardia Airport Terminal B in New York for US$115 million.

Skanska led the design and construction of the terminal building as part of a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to redevelop the airport, completed in 2022.

It was also the first airport project in the world to receive LEED v4 Gold certification for building design and construction.

LaGuardia Gateway Partners originally agreed to take over operations of the Central Terminal Building at the airport, opened in 1964, and to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a replacement terminal for a lease through to 2050.

The project was financed using equity, debt, passenger facility charges, retail and airline revenues.

Now Skanska has sold its entire 32% stake in LaGuardia Gateway Partners to the other existing partners, MI LaGuardia CTB and Vantage Airport Group (New York).

It’s the second sale of a stake in a high-profile international airport in just over a week, after Ferrovial sold its 25% interest in London’s Heathrow in the UK to the Saudi Public Investment Fund for US$3 billion. Both come at a time when debt financing has become more expensive due to increasing interest rates.

Asked when Skanska had chosen to sell, a spokesperson for the company told International Construction, “The sale follows our normal strategy for divestments, i.e. when construction is completed and the operation of the project has stabilised, a sale process begins.

“We consider the timing of the sale to be favourable. It is a unique and very attractive asset.”

Magnus Eriksson, managing director of Skanska’s Asset Management division said, “It has been an honour to be a part of LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B redevelopment.

“We want to thank the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for placing its trust in Skanska and its partners to deliver a project of this magnitude. From the onset, it was imperative to have the right team in place to deliver on the vision to create a world-class terminal. We are now very pleased that our partners Meridiam and Vantage Airport Group will fully take over and continue to deliver the future success of Terminal B. Skanska is incredibly grateful for the opportunity and proud at what we’ve created together, from a vision to reality.”