Struggling Macquarie Airports has sold its stake in Bristol Airport and increased its interest in Copenhagen Airports in a deal with a "friendly" Canadian pension plan investor.
But the sale of Bristol was priced at a discount of 12.7% to the June 30 value and the purchase of the extra stake in Copenhagen was at a much larger 40% discount to the value in the MAp June 30 accounts.
The airport investor group said yesterday it had agreed to sell its 35.5% interest in Bristol Airport to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) for STG128 million (or $244.23 million).
The transaction also includes MAp’s acquisition of an additional 3.9% interest in Copenhagen Airports from OTPP for 570 million Danish Kroner ($130.17 million), bringing MAp’s Copenhagen stake to 30.8%.
The additional stake will be held directly rather than through MAp’s existing holding company structure, it said.
The acquisition price represents a discount to MAp’s valuation of its Copenhagen Airports interest at June 30 of a reported 40%.
Copenhagen is MAp’s biggest asset after its 74% stake in Sydney Airport where the Canadian group was one of the original investors when the group was formed to buy Sydney back in 2002.
The Australian newspaper reported in late June that the OTTP was also suing Macquarie Group over the takeover of Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group.
The deals come a fortnight before MAp’s security holders vote on a buy-out of Macquarie Group’s management rights for $345 million.
An independent expert, KPMG Corporate Finance, last week that the fee paid to Macquarie to buy out its management rights was ‘‘fair and reasonable’’.
The fact that the two deals represented a discount to their June 30 valuations should be looked at in light of the KPMG advice.
MAp will receive a net cash inflow of approximately $120 million from the transactions, it said, bringing cash reserves to approximately $900 million.
The transactions are subject to a number of conditions including European Union anti-trust clearance.
MAp sees the deals being finalised before year end.
Chief executive Kerrie Mather said in a statement Copenhagen Airports had experienced a "challenging” year, but traffic performance had begun to benefit from improving economic conditions.
"Pleasingly the airport has recently reached a long-term aeronautical charging agreement with airlines, positioning the airport well for growth,” Ms Mather said.
Bristol had been one of the group’s original investments and had generated an excellent return over the ownership period, she said.
"We feel that our investors are better served deploying our resources elsewhere,” Ms Mather said.
Ms Mather said the 35.5% stake in Bristol Airport represented just 4% of MAp’s overall portfolio by value.
The fund said the two transactions will generate net cash of $120 million, which will take its cash reserves to about $900 million.
The latest deal comes a day after the Danish civil aviation authority approved a long-term agreement covering aeronautical charges at Copenhagen Airport.
Prices will remain unchanged for 18 months, and then increase 1 per cent faster per year than the annual increase in the Danish consumer price index for the next four years.
No change has been made to MAp’s distribution guidance of 21 cents per stapled security for 2009.
MAp units rose 15 cents or more than 5% to $2.57.
