Fraport to Manage Retail Malls at Four U.S. Airports

FRANKFURT, Germany, August 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Fraport Acquires U.S.-based Airmall Group That Oversees Retailing Space at Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh Airports 

Effective August 1, the Fraport Group has expanded its international portfolio in the global airport market by acquiring 100 percent of U.S.-based AMU Holdings Inc., which owns Airmall USA Holdings Inc. (Airmall).  One of the leading airport-concessions developers in North America, Airmall markets space at the aviation hubs of Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Cleveland (CLE) and Pittsburgh (PIT). Together, these four hubs serve a total of about 70 million passengers per year.  Airmall currently oversees about 34,000 square meters (366,000 square feet) of space in the passenger terminals at the four airports - with about 270 retail and food and beverage outlets operated by international, national, regional and local tenants.  

Fraport AG's executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte welcomed the acquisition deal: "The retailing business at our Frankfurt home-base has always been a growth engine and we have repeated this success story consistently over the years at our other Group airports worldwide.   With the acquisition of Airmall, we have established a promising platform for developing our U.S. business in the future."

Dr. Matthias Zieschang, Fraport AG's executive board member for finance (CFO), as well as acquisitions and investments, explained:  "On the one hand, Airmall has developed a solid business at the four U.S. airports, whereby investing makes good business sense.  On the other hand, Airmall will give us a presence at these four airports for further expanding our brand reputation in the U.S. market." This will give Fraport the right prerequisites for further growth on the continent and in other parts of the world.  

Airmall's headquarters will remain at Pittsburgh's international airport.  The addition of Airmall in the Fraport global portfolio will help provide new two-way synergistic benefits -- a win-win business relationship.  Both Airmall and Fraport are dedicated to enhancing the passenger experience at airports.  Thanks to its successful concessions model in North America, Airmall has one of the highest per-passenger spends on the continent.  

Furthermore, Airmall offers substantial expertise in the U.S. marketplace and industry leadership as an innovator.  For example, the company was honored in the 2013 ARN Best Airports and Concessionaires Awards (by Airport Revenue News) for best practices in concessions design, customer service, unique services, and overall concessions programs. The craft brew pubs at Airmall's CLE and BWI airport malls were recently recognized in GQ Magazine's 2014 America's Best Airport Beer Bars ranking.  

Print-quality photos of Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport are available for free downloading via the photo library located in our Press Center on the Fraport Web site. For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading.

About Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport 

Fraport AG - which ranks among the world's leading companies in the global airport business- offers a full range of integrated airport management services. Boasting subsidiaries and investments on four continents, In 2013, the Fraport Group generated sales of €2.56 billion, EBITDA of €880.2 million and a profit of about €236 million. Last year, more than 103 million passengers used airports arround the world in which Fraport has a majority stake.

At its Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, Fraport welcomed more than 58 million passengers in 2013 and handled some 2.1 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail). For the current flight timetable, FRA is served by 108 passenger airlines flying to some 295 destinations in 105 countries worldwide.  More than half of FRA's destinations are intercontinental (beyond Europe) - underscoring Frankfurt's role as a leading hub in the global air transportation system. In Europe, Frankfurt Airport ranks first in terms of cargo tonnage and is the third-busiest for passenger traffic. With well over 50 percent of all passengers using Frankfurt as a connecting hub, FRA also has the highest transfer rate among the major European hubs.

Frankfurt Airport City  has become Germany's largest job complex at a single location, employing more than 78,000 people at about 500 companies and organizations directly on site. The FRA Airport City also serves as a magnet for other companies located throughout the economically vital Frankfurt/Rhine-Main-Neckar region. Thanks to synergies associated with the region's dynamic and diverse industries, plus networked expertise and outstanding intermodal transportation infrastructure,

Frankfurt Airport meets the increasing needs of the flourishing export-oriented economies of the State of Hesse as well as Germany as a whole, for optimal connections to growth markets around the globe. Likewise, FRA is also a strategic gateway for companies wanting to access the huge European marketplace.  Thus, Frankfurt Airport - which is strategically located in the heart of Europe, is one of the most important hubs in the world and a major infrastructure site for Germany and Europe.  

Major new real estate developments - such as The Squaire, the Gateway Gardens business park, and the Mönchhof Logistics Park, etc. - are creating an exciting new dimension and range of services at the evolving Frankfurt Airport City of the 21^st century.  

Fraport AG
Robert A. Payne
International Spokesman
Press Office, Corp.Communications
60547 Frankfurt, Germany
Telefon:  +49-69-690-78547
E-mail:  r.payne@fraport.de
Internet:  http://www.fraport.com
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