Auckland Airport jumps on Sydney Airport takeover bid

Auckland Airport led New Zealand shares higher after ASX-listed Sydney Airport skyrocketed on a A$22 billion takeover offer.

Monday, July 5th 2021, 7:00PM

by BusinessDesk

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 100.48 points, or 0.8%, to 12,812.32. Turnover was $165 million.

Auckland Airport benefited from the news that a consortium of infrastructure investors pitched a takeover for Sydney Airport at A$8.25 per share.

The offer sent Sydney Airport soaring more than 30% and Auckland Airport tagged along for the ride, up 5.4% at $7.60.

Investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners Peter McIntyre said it was an opportunistic bid as the Australian airport is still trading well below its pre-covid level.

Airlines also got a boost from the vote of confidence in international travel recovery. Shares of Air New Zealand climbed 1.6% to $1.58 – ASX-listed Qantas was up 2.7% – and Tourism Holdings gained 2% at $2.55.

A2 Milk’s recovery continues to gain momentum, with its shares rising 2.7% to $7.20 today. Investors appear to be encouraged by the hire of an infant formula marketing executive and recent broker endorsements. Synlait Milk also climbed 1.6% to $3.72.

Shares of medicinal cannabis company Cannasouth dropped 2.1% to 48 cents after it announced it intends to raise $6m to buy its manufacturing and cultivation partners out of the joint venture.

Last May, the company issued 15.85m shares at a price of 38c. The offer was oversubscribed and raised more than $6m.

NZ Refining Company shares climbed 3% to 69 cents on the independent adviser’s assessment that shareholders will face fewer risks and benefit from more reliable dividends if the Marsden Point operations switches to an import terminal next year.

Serko has poached Pushpay's chief financial officer, Shane Sampson, who will start work at the online travel booking and expense management company in October.

Serko shares slipped half a percent to $7.60, while Pushpay Holdings dropped 2.9% to $1.70.

The NZ dollar climbed from a near seven-month low as mixed employment data in the United States was released on Friday in Washington.

The monthly jobs report showed a high number of jobs had been created but unemployment was marginally higher, probably due to more Americans who left the workforce during the pandemic looking for work opportunities.

The kiwi dollar was trading at 70.24 US cents at 3pm in Wellington, up from 69.62 cents on Friday.

The trade-weighted index was at 74.10 at 3pm, from 73.67 on Friday. The kiwi traded at 93.43 Australian cents from 93.30 cents, 78.01 yen from 77.70 yen, 59.23 euro cents from 58.79 cents, 50.80 British pence from 50.59 pence, and 4.5403 Chinese yuan from 4.5086 yuan.

Tags: Market Close