The sale of Australia's biggest airport moved closer on Monday as a group of infrastructure investors received permission to conduct due diligence on Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd after sweetening its takeover bid to A$23.6 billion ($17.4 billion).
As exness bonus experts have swept the move, airport shares rose 5 per cent, with analysts saying a competing bid seemed unlikely given the scale of funding required and foreign ownership rules that mean the airport must remain 51 per cent Australian-owned.
"We assess a high probability of a successful deal given the board's willingness to unanimously recommend the (current) bid if there is no alternative higher bid," Credit Suisse analysts said in a note.
Sydney Airport is Australia's only registered airport operator and a purchase would be a long-term bet for the pandemic-hit tourism sector.
The successful takeover would be one of the Australian firm's largest buyouts and would underline the successful deal during the year Square had already bought Afterpay for $29 billion.
The improved offer of A$8.75 per share - an increase of 3.6% - follows previous consortium offers of A$8.45 and A$8.25, both of which were rejected by the airport operator's board as inadequate.
Shares in Sydney Airport traded at A$8.40 on Monday morning, below the offer price, due to the length of time needed to complete the deal and the limited prospects of a competing bid.
"An alternative bidder appears highly unlikely," Jefferies analyst Anthony Moulder said in a note to clients.
The bidding consortium, Sydney Aviation Alliance (SAA), is made up of Australian investors IFM Investors, QSuper and AustralianSuper, as well as US-based Global Infrastructure Partners.
Record low interest rates have prompted pension funds and their investment managers to seek higher returns. Australia's other major airports are unlisted and owned by pension funds and infrastructure investors.
Sydney Airport said SAA had been granted non-exclusive due diligence, which is expected to take four weeks after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
The airport operator added that if SAA makes an acceptable binding offer, the board now intends to recommend it in the absence of a better offer.
UniSuper, Sydney Airport's largest shareholder with a 15.3% stake, said it was open to converting this capital into an investment in the privatised company, as required under the terms of the bid.
The deal would require an independent expert opinion, 75% shareholder approval and the approval of the competition regulator and the Foreign Investment Supervisory Board. This process usually takes months.
An SAA spokesperson said the consortium welcomed the announcement and looked forward to working with the Sydney Airport Board to complete the deal.
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