Sydney Airport sale closer after higher bid

Good deal: A file picture showing people walking through the domestic terminal at the Sydney Airport. The new offer sent the airport’s shares up 5%. — Reuters

SYDNEY: A sale of Australia’s biggest airport moved closer yesterday as an infrastructure investor group won permission to conduct due diligence on Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd, after sweetening its takeover offer to A$23.6bil (US$17.4bil or RM72bil).

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.