New York, December 7, 2006 — Shearman & Sterling represented Citigroup and Accival in the US$376 million initial public offering of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known by its trade name OMA (“OMA”).  The global offering, in which the Ministry of Communications and Transportation of Mexico was the selling shareholder, included 83,513,040 Series B shares in the international offering in the form of ADSs or Series B shares led by Citigroup and 83,513,046 Series B shares in the Mexican offering led by Accival.  Together, the offered securities represented 41.8% of OMA’s outstanding capital stock.  The transaction priced on November 28 and closed on December 4. The ADSs are listed on NASDAQ under the symbol OMAB and the Series B shares are listed on the Mexico Stock Exchange.

The transaction concludes the final phase of the Mexican government’s privatization plan for Mexico’s commercial airport sector, which began in 1998 when the Mexican government divided 35 of Mexico’s principal airports into three groups to be opened to private investment. 

OMA’s two-phase privatization process began in 1999 with the acquisition by Servicios de Tecnología Aeroportuaria, S.A. de C.V. (“SETA”). OMA’s subsidiaries operate 13 airports serving areas concentrated in Mexico’s central and northern regions, including the major metropolitan area of Monterrey, tourist destinations such as Acapulco and Zihuatanejo and a number of regional centers and border cities. 

The Shearman & Sterling team consisted of the following New York attorneys: partner Antonia Stolper (Capital Markets) and associates Kelly Burgesser (Capital Markets), Sky Frautschi (Capital Markets) and Alejandro Gordano (Capital Markets).  Associate Michael Sunwoo advised on tax issues and associate Damien Grierson advised on NASD matters.