THE deadline to buy a 99-year lease on Perth Airport closed this week, ten years ago, with at least two local consortiums bidding, including investment bank Hellman & Friedman with BankWest and San Francisco International Airport. Lend Lease teamed up with Brambles Industries partnership to lodge an application, with Aer Rianta secured as operator. Other groups bidding for Perth Airport, in addition to Brisbane and Melbourne Airports, include Australian Pacific Airports Corp comprising BAA Plc, the AMP Society and NSW State Super, the Commonwealth Bank-Schipol Airport partnership and Airports Group Australia, which includes Lockheed Martin and investor George Soros. Westfield Holdings also lodged an expression of interest, after earlier withdrawing from a partnership with AGA.
