Sydney Airport board to grant due diligence after improved $17.4 billion offer

This post was originally published on this site

The improved offer of A$8.75 a share compares to prior proposals from the consortium of A$8.45 and A$8.25 respectively, both of which had been rejected by the airport operator’s board as inadequate.

Sydney Airport shares last closed at A$8.00 on Friday, before the increased offer price was announced.

The bidding consortium, Sydney Aviation Alliance (SAA), is comprised of Australian investors IFM Investors, QSuper and AustralianSuper and U.S.-based Global Infrastructure Partners.

SAA has been granted non-exclusive due diligence that is expected to take four weeks after signing a non-disclosure agreement, Sydney Airport said.

If SAA makes an acceptable binding proposal, the current intention is for the board to recommend it in the absence of a superior offer, the airport operator added.

A SAA spokesman said the consortium welcomed the announcement and looked forward to working with Sydney Airport’s board to finalise the transaction.

($1 = 1.3587 Australian dollars)