The short list of companies interested in acquiring stakes in Birmingham International Airport (BIA) in the UK has come down to eight, although it may still be several months before any agreement is reached.

The interested parties (who have not been revealed) are due to submit their offers to Macquarie and Aer Rianta International who together hold some 49% of BIA's shares. Analysts suggest that the asking price could be in the region of around ?600m ($1.1bn).
Seven Midland authorities own another 48% of BIA and any one could object to a sale it if chooses to do so. One of the undertakings they will be looking for is the agreement by any buyer that it will construct a runway extension to allow larger aircraft to land and operate long haul routes to China and the west coast of the United States within the next five years.
An additional 400-metre extension costing around ?120m ($239.4m) would be necessary to meet this requirement.
At present around 7,500 people work in and around the airport, which generates ?220m ($439m) for the Midlands economy. But this figure is estimated to rise to ?1bn ($1.9bn) by 2030.