A COMBINED 70 per cent stake in Hobart International Airport (HIA) in Tasmania, Australia is to be acquired by Dutch airport operator Royal Schiphol Group and state-owned investment firm Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) for an undisclosed purchase price. The sale is expected to be finalised by the end of October.
HIA recorded A$48 million (US$32 million) in revenue and A$33 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 2018 financial year.
Investors had been circling the Tasmanian airport, which has been gearing up to become a regional air cargo hub for local producers, allowing cargo to be transported directly from Hobart to export destinations. Some Tasmanian exports are delivered to a pier for loading onto ships bound for Melbourne or Sydney before being transferred to an aircraft for delivery to destination, reported American Shipper.
The HIA sale comes just months after the airport announced it would spend AUD200 million by 2030 to double terminal capacity.
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) sold 50.1 per cent stake in the airport, while Tasmania-based multi-industry superannuation fund TasPlan Super sold just under 20 per cent and will retain a 30 per cent shareholding.
Each partner in the consortium will acquire a 35 per cent stake and act as an independent shareholder after the acquisition. In Australia, both Schiphol and QIC have a stake, alongside other investors, in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), which acquired Brisbane airport from the federal government in 1997 for A$1.4 billion under a 49-year lease with an option to renew for a further 50 years.
It is relatively rare for airports to come to market in Australia. In 2018, however, Auckland airport sold its 24.55 per cent stake in North Queensland Airports for A$370 million to co-shareholders JP Morgan Infrastructure Investment Fund, The Infrastructure Fund and Perron Investments.
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HIA recorded A$48 million (US$32 million) in revenue and A$33 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 2018 financial year.
Investors had been circling the Tasmanian airport, which has been gearing up to become a regional air cargo hub for local producers, allowing cargo to be transported directly from Hobart to export destinations. Some Tasmanian exports are delivered to a pier for loading onto ships bound for Melbourne or Sydney before being transferred to an aircraft for delivery to destination, reported American Shipper.
The HIA sale comes just months after the airport announced it would spend AUD200 million by 2030 to double terminal capacity.
Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) sold 50.1 per cent stake in the airport, while Tasmania-based multi-industry superannuation fund TasPlan Super sold just under 20 per cent and will retain a 30 per cent shareholding.
Each partner in the consortium will acquire a 35 per cent stake and act as an independent shareholder after the acquisition. In Australia, both Schiphol and QIC have a stake, alongside other investors, in Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), which acquired Brisbane airport from the federal government in 1997 for A$1.4 billion under a 49-year lease with an option to renew for a further 50 years.
It is relatively rare for airports to come to market in Australia. In 2018, however, Auckland airport sold its 24.55 per cent stake in North Queensland Airports for A$370 million to co-shareholders JP Morgan Infrastructure Investment Fund, The Infrastructure Fund and Perron Investments.
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