AUSTRALIA/ITALY. Macquarie Airports (MAp) today confirmed that it has agreed to dispose of its 44.74% stake in Aeroporti di Roma (AdR) to Leonardo, a wholly owned subsidiary of fellow AdR shareholder Gemina SpA.
The deal, conducted through Macquarie Airports Luxembourg (MALSA), involved a cash consideration of €1,237 million and is subject to competition authority clearance. Aeroporti di Roma controls Rome Fiumicino and Rome Ciampino airports
MAp, through its direct and indirect interests in MALSA, has a 34.2% beneficial interest in AdR. MALSA acquired its interest in AdR for just €480 million in March 2003.
MAp CEO Kerrie Mather said: “Upon completion MAp will have achieved an excellent return on its investment in AdR. We believe that it is an attractive offer and is in the best interests of our security holders to accept.
“We will now focus on our remaining portfolio of high quality assets, where MAp, in conjunction with other Macquarie-managed funds, has majority interests. We are embarking on exciting projects at all our airport investments – Sydney, Copenhagen, Brussels and Bristol.”
She added: “MAp is well placed to continue to participate in the privatisation of airports globally, and we see substantial future opportunity in this area. We believe our track record as a successful and responsible investor and operator makes us the bidder of choice for many potential airport vendors.”
Among the strongest candidates for an imminent Macquarie move is Auckland International Airport Limited, whose Directors today admitted they were holding talks with various parties about investment interests.
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Auckland International Airport subject of stake building and takeover speculation – 18/06/07
