Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, said that it had bought a stake in Britain's Gatwick Airport as it increased its exposure to infrastructure assets.

Sovereign wealth funds are emerging as major investors in infrastructure, alongside pension funds and insurance companies, although opportunities for them can be limited as many governments consider infrastructure to be a strategic sector.

An Adia spokesman said the wealth fund was now a minority shareholder in Gatwick, buying a stake from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), but declined to comment on the precise stake and the amount that Adia paid.

Two sources close to the deal said Adia would pay around 125 million pounds ($196.4 million) for a 15 percent stake in Gatwick, confirming an earlier report in The Times newspaper.

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Posted by mopeng at February 5, 2010 2:39 PM