Dubai International Airport pursues stake in Auckland International Airport
A report in The Dominion Post says that Dubai International Airport is believed to have approached Manukau City Council about the Council’s 10.5% stake in Auckland International Airport.
Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis said the council had received one more proposal from another party since it was revealed in mid-June that the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board had offered both Manukau and Auckland city councils $3.10 a share for their airport stakes.
Mr Curtis would not say who the approach was from, but BusinessDay understands it was from Dubai International Airport.
Meanwhile Auckland International Airport says more than one party is doing due diligence on the airport in preparation for a takeover offer.
Yesterday Auckland International Airport director Mike Smith said some parties were undertaking due diligence on the airport.
The airport had previously said it was talking to several parties regarding value-enhancing opportunities, including acquiring an ownership interest in the airport.
Mr Smith declined to comment on how many parties were doing due diligence or when an offer or offers might eventuate.
“They are not working to any precise timetable,” he said. “But there’s a lot of work for these guys to do. It’s a big transaction.”
The airport had not commissioned an independent appraisal report yet but would be doing so once it had an offer or offers on the table, he said.
It is unclear whether the Canada Pension Plan is one of the parties doing due diligence.
In mid-June the airport directors said that the pension plan, which is being represented in New Zealand by investment bank UBS, had advised it did not intend to proceed with a takeover bid yet.
Dubai International Airport, however, is one of three parties that Macquarie Equities investment director Arthur Lim said he had heard were in discussions with Auckland Airport.
The other two were ASX-listed infrastructure investor Babcock & Brown and Spanish company Ferrovial, part owner of several Australian airports.
“Those are the ones that I have heard of with a high degree of credibility,” he said.
Several analysts and commentators have also said Macquarie Airports is likely to be interested. Macquarie Airports declined to comment on whether it was one of the parties undertaking due diligence on the airport.
According to analysts, other potential buyers include Australian infrastructure manager Hastings Funds Management and Victorian Funds Management Corporation, which manages funds on behalf of state government agencies.
Victorian bought a 48.25% stake in Birmingham International Airport with the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan early this year.
Auckland International Airport shares jumped 48 cents to an intra-day high of $3.30 when news of the ownership discussions broke in mid-June and have traded at a premium since. Yesterday they closed down 2 cents at $3.28.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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