Sydney Airport Likely to Secure Acquisition Proposal Worth 20 Trillion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Sydney Airport is expected to be sold to a consortium led by global asset management firm IFM Investors for 23.6 billion Australian dollars (approximately 20.4 trillion KRW).

On the 13th (local time), Bloomberg reported that the investment consortium led by IFM Investors plans to submit a binding letter of intent after several weeks of due diligence.

The acquisition price is set at 8.75 AUD per share, reflecting a premium of about 9% compared to the closing price on the 10th.

Bloomberg also reported that Sydney Airport Holdings, the operator of Sydney Airport, is expected to accept IFM Investors' acquisition offer.

Previously, the investment consortium consisting of IFM Investors, Australia's pension fund QSuper, and Global Infrastructure, had made two acquisition offers to Sydney Airport since July, but the deals fell through due to price disagreements.

IFM Investors is a global asset management firm owned by 28 Australian pension funds.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing a sharp decline in air travel demand, Sydney Airport's stock price has also remained weak.

Sydney Airport saw a steep drop in passenger numbers starting March last year due to the pandemic. Although it is expected to take several more years for global air travel demand to fully recover, some operations are normalizing thanks to expanded vaccine rollouts.

Australia's largest airline, Qantas Airways, aims to resume international flights by mid-December this year.

Hugh Dive, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Atlas Fund Management based in Sydney, said, "Considering the uncertainties around aviation recovery and competition with the new Western Sydney Airport scheduled to open in 2026, this will be an offer that shareholders will find satisfactory."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.