Airport owner Macquarie Airports
(ASX:MAP) says it has agreed to sell its 35.5 per cent stake in Bristol Airport to Ontario Teachers Pension Plan for $244.3 million.
The sale represents a 12.7 per cent discount to Macquarie’s June 30 valuation of Bristol Airport.
The company says it will also acquire a further 3.9 per cent stake in Copenhagen Airports from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan for $340 million, taking its interest in Copenhagen to 30.8 per cent.
Macquarie says the two transactions will lift the company’s net cash reserves by around $120 million to approximately $900 million.
CEO Kerrie Mather says with the company’s portfolio having grown significantly over the last five years, Bristol now represents just four per cent of its portfolio by value, and the company feels that its investors are better served deploying Macquarie’s resources elsewhere.
Macquarie Airports 2008 net profit was $2 billion.
