KEY POINTS:
Auckland Airport is playing down talk of a multinational Dubai company entering the ring in a soon-to-announced takeover bid for the company.
Airport director Mike Smith said last night neither the board nor the subcommittee carrying out negotiations with interested parties had met on Friday and no meetings were taking place today.
Mr Smith, who chairs the subcommittee and fronted most of the negotiations, said board members were meeting regularly for updates. No meetings were planned for this week "at this stage".
He was commenting on a Sunday newspaper report saying the board met urgently on Friday and had another meeting planned for today after a visit to New Zealand nine days ago by Dubai World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem to look at investment opportunities.
Mr Smith said Sultan Bin Sulayem met airport chief executive Don Huse over dinner "but to my knowledge it had nothing to do with the airport".
"I never met him, I have never asked to meet with him and he didn't ask to meet with me," said Mr Smith.
He refused to say how many parties the airport companies was in talks with or how close a deal could be.
"These deals don't get negotiated through the media. They are confidential," Mr Smith said.
Auckland and Manukau councils, which own 22.8 per cent of the airport shares between them, have been coy over approaches. Auckland City has is consulting residents with options ranging from selling shares to putting them in a restructured company.
