Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Mexican mining and railroad corporation Grupo Mexico will now seek to acquire Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) through a share acquisition that is expected take place as a public offering. According to the report, Grupo Mexico has entered a filing with the Mexican stock exchange, clearly stating that it intends to try to buy more than 30 percent of the airport group.

Under local securities laws, this means that Grupo Mexico is required to offer to purchase 100 percent of the publicly traded shares available for GAP. Grupo Mexico also stated in the filing that it expects to pay around 50 pesos per share, which is equivalent to $4.24 U.S. 

Still subject to a number of regulatory approvals, the offer has already been approved by Grupo Mexico's board, which has also stated that if the company is unable to purchase more than 50 percent of the available shares of GAP, it will be forced to decide whether to continue with future share purchases, or to sell all of its existing shares.

Late last year Grupo Mexico and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico joined forces in a bid to win the concession to build and operate a new airport in the town of Tulum, which is located in the the Mexican Caribbean and scenic Riviera Maya real estate.  While all bids were rejected by the Mexican government in May, in early June Grupo Mexico announced its plans to appeal the rejection on the grounds that the reasons were not well founded. 

Grupo Mexico also operates mines in Mexico, Peru and the U.S., as well as a number of railroads in throughout Mexico. GAP currently runs 12 airports in Mexico, located in a variety of tourist hotspots such as Guadalajara and Tijuana, which is located just across the border from San Diego, California.