Sydney Airport sale a step closer after improved $17.4 billion offer
A sale of Australia’s biggest airport moved closer on Monday as an infrastructure investor group won permission to conduct due diligence on Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd, after sweetening its takeover offer to A$23.6 billion ($17.4 billion).
The move sent the airport’s shares up 5%, with analysts saying a rival bid appeared unlikely given the scale of the funding needed and foreign ownership rules that mean the airport must remain 51% Australian owned.
“We assign a high probability of a deal succeeding given the board’s commitment to unanimously recommend the (current) offer if there is no alternative higher offer,” Credit Suisse analysts said in a note.
