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TIMELINE: Key dates in the history of BAA
(Reuters) - British airports operator BAA was on Wednesday told to sell two of its three London airports and one in Scotland after the competition regulator found the monopoly to be against the interests of airlines and passengers.
Following are key dates in BAA's history.
1965 - The Authority is established following the introduction of the Airports Authority Bill and was intended to make airports more flexible and able to generate profits.
1966 - It assumes ownership and responsibility for Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Prestwick airports. Between 1971 and 1975 it acquired Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow airports.
1986: The Airports Act is passed, dissolving the Authority and passing all its property, rights and liabilities on to a new company, the British Airports Authority (BAA).
1987 - BAA is floated on the stock market with a capitalization of 1,225 million pounds ($2.28 billion).
1990 - Southampton Airport is acquired.
1992 - Prestwick Airport is sold.
February 2006 - Spanish construction firm Grupo Ferrovial FER.MC declares an interest in acquiring BAA.
May 2006 - BAA rejects an 8.75-billion-pound ($16 billion) hostile bid from Ferrovial saying it needs to be a lot higher.
-- Ferrovial later raises its bid to 9.73 billion pounds ($18.1 billion) but BAA says it is still too low. The final price is more than 10 billion pounds.
June 2006 - Ferrovial officially takes control of BAA after gaining 83 percent of its shares.
August 2006 - BAA is de-listed from the London Stock Exchange following acquisition by Ferrovial.
May 2007 - Budapest airport, acquired by BAA in 2005 is sold to Hochtief (HOTG.DE), Germany's largest construction company, for 1.9 billion euros ($2.57 billion).
August 18, 2008 - Ferrovial says it has completed the 13.3 billion pound ($24.8 billion) refinancing of BAA which includes 3 billion pounds for new investment. Under the terms, the main airports held by BAA, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, will be hived off into a separate structure known as the "designated airports".
August 20, 2008 - Britain's Competition Commission rules that Ferrovial must sell two London airports and one of either Edinburgh or Glasgow due to problems caused by the monopoly to passengers and airlines.
Sources: Reuters; www.baa.com;
(Writing by John Bowker and Jijo Jacob, editing by David Cutler)
