Street Talk

C’est parti! France’s Vinci bids for $3b Cairns, Mackay airports

Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Apr 3, 2025 – 5.54pm

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French infrastructure player Vinci, capitalised at €69.5 billion ($120.8 billion) on the Euronext Paris, has made its third attempt to add an Australian airport to its sprawling global portfolio.

Street Talk understands Vinci, advised by Lazard, has lobbed a non-binding indicative bid for North Queensland Airports, owner of the Cairns and Mackay airports, where owners JPMorgan Infrastructure Partners and Macquarie-run The Infrastructure Fund are selling 100 per cent via Macquarie Capital in the fourth airport deal in the past 12 months.

Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.

Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.

Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review.