KEY POINTS:
The Auckland International Airport Board didn't go looking for buyers. But plenty came to it anyhow.
Eight parties - it was revealed yesterday - have been in active discussions with the board at various times for almost three months.
The process dates back to early May and a raid on the airport's shares by Australia's Macquarie.
Dubai Aerospace's (DAE) American chief executive Bob Johnson says the timing of its bid is fortuitous.
The airport investment division of DAE has only been running since February. It had just begun scouring the world for acquisitions when it noticed the fuss around Auckland Airport.
"Suddenly there was a whisper that the company was in play," says airport chairman John Maasland. "At that point you cannot stop the flurry of people who come and knock on your door."
DAE was the first with a serious offer. At that point the board allowed them to do due diligence.
That has ruffled the feathers of other potential bidders who believe DAE has been the board's preferred choice from the start.
"There was no choice," Maasland says. "There isn't a 'do nothing' category."
But if the offer had been poor it could have been dismissed out of hand.
"If it were a private equity deal at $3.10 I'd say 'go away'," he says. "But this is $3.80 and it provides an investor who is there for the long haul and who wants to work with us."
Maasland makes the point that the Dubai offer is at a 55.7 per cent premium to the share price prior to the original Macquarie speculation.
There have been suggestions that the board has been proactively seeking a way to unlock capital to return to shareholders.
Certainly the company doesn't need capital for any new infrastructure investment. Its development plans for the next 20 years are under way with funding in place. It has low debt levels by international standards.
"There was nothing wrong with the status quo," says Maasland.
He concedes the airport is slightly undergeared. But there was no crisis which required the board to seek an investor or alter the capital structure.
"We didn't go out to change it at all," Maasland says. "We were not looking to do this sort of deal, it came to us."
