Asur Chairman Taking Control

Fernando Chico Pardo, the chairman of Mexican airport operator Aeroportuario del Sureste (Asur), launched an unsolicited tender offer Monday for a majority share of the company’s outstanding stock. The offer to buy 42.6% of the company at a price of 56 pesos ($5.19) for each ordinary share expires on 12 June. Earlier in the day, the board of Asur – in a filing with the stock exchange – said it considered the offer a fair one for investors. Chico Pardo is the founder and president of Mexican private equity firm Promecap, which bought a 24.5% stake in ITA, Asur’s strategic partner, in 2004. Asur is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as well as in Mexico and was the first Mexican airport group to be privatized.