HOCHTIEF AirPort has announced that it is operating with immediate effect under the new name of AviAlliance. The renaming marks a fresh start for the company which was sold by the HOCHTIEF Group in September. The new owner of AviAlliance GmbH is a subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) in Canada. Alongside its new name, the company's corporate design is also being revised.

HOCHTIEF AirPort was sold for a price of €1.1 billion on a multiple of 8 times EBITDA which was much lower than multiples in other transactions during 2012-2013: ANA airports in Portugal (15.4 x EBITDA), Stansted airport (15.9 x EBITDA), Edinburgh airport (16.7 x EBITDA) and Luton airport (10.9 x EBITDA). This was probably a consequence of holding minority stakes in the airports and the downward trend in its EBITDA.

PSP Investments is one of the largest pension investment managers in Canada with assets under management totaling CAD 76.1 billion as at March 31, 2013. It manages pension contributions for the federal public service, the Canadian forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Forces.

At present, AviAlliance holds shares in the airports of Athens, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Tirana. The stake in Sydney Airport, Australia, was previously acquired by PSP Investments as a direct shareholding.

Holger Linkweiler, Managing Director of AviAlliance, said welcoming the now completed change of ownership:

"We are delighted that with PSP Investments we have a new owner with a long-term orientation with whom we - as AviAlliance - can realize new projects in the airport privatization market."

In 2012, AviAlliance's airports handled around 58 million passengers.