Auckland International Airport Limited (AIA)

[minimoke]

...
It is a wide topic, to be sure, but intuitively the hog posits that most kiwis would - on balance - prefer that key assets be kept in at least local ownership. Sometimes, this is a trade-off against a larger business and improved economic "performance".

S

If Kiws did want this they would vote for a party that wouldn't sell off assets.

Over the past few decades we have already seen the sell off of strategic assets like rail and hydro (Contact). We have also seen a govt buy back rail and also buy into a non strategic asset AIR because it “feels good”.



If companies are required to disclose then why shouldn’t the government?



Govt should flag at the beginning of an election cycle what its position is, and in this instance clearly spell out what constitutes “strategically important infrastructure on sensitive land” so that the market can value the position accordingly. No doubt Cullen will today announce all other assets that meets his criteria – or will he leave it until it becomes politically expedient to do so.

[ratkin]

Bought a chunk at 2.18. AIA is now my largest investment. Not too bothered about the takeover now. These are for the long term.

With all the fuss about the takeover people have forgotten what a quality asset this is. Sure we would of made a quick gain , however in the longterm we might be pleased we didnt.

Traders wont be quite so happy of course

[CJ]

For those that are now buying (shame you didn't get in when it got down to $2) are you still going to sell into the offer in the off chance that it does go ahead?

If you already held shares (and voted to sell up to 100%) would you need to revote in respect of the new shares or would the old vote cover the new shares.

[zac]

Sure it a great asset but the value of shares has now been seriously depreciated by the dead hand of political influence. Investment is all about predictability and political shenanagins are totally unpredictable. If you doubt this have a look at the Vector share price.

[voltage]

this is a good buy for the best blue chip in NZ, a monopoly that will be clipping the ticket for many years to come. Just topped my holding up

[kura]

this is a good buy for the best blue chip in NZ, a monopoly that will be clipping the ticket for many years to come. Just topped my holding up

I'd suggest caution before buying further, I recall listening to (Brian Gaynor ? ) on radio last night, saying the Canadian bid was pitched at a PE of 30 "something" . Sure since their offer is pretty well dead, the price has dropped, (and PE) but would you really want to be buying such a high PE stock in todays enviroment, if you think the growth potential is there, thats fine.
But consider that there are allready regulations for setting landing charges etc, and if AIL is seen to be making monopolistic profits, a simple change in the regulations could limit future profit growth.

[Deev8]

One notes that the US govt blocked the sale of a bunch of ports to an arab consortium last year.

One notes that the Australians have rules about foriegners owning their strategic assets, as do the the UK, Singapore, Japan, Canada, etc., etc,

Personally I have no problem with rules about the ownership of "strategic assets", but I do have a problem with our government butting in just 8 days before the offer closes - the offer has been officially on the table since 14th December, and was announced some time before that.

We should also keep in mind the the New Zealand government used to be a majority owner of the airport, and had ample opportunity to impose conditions on overseas ownership when it decided to sell its stake, but chose not to.

[zac]

Good point re future profits of AIA. A labour govt. (pressed by AIR of which it is a major shareholder) would find it very easy to impose price control on airport charges.

[Grimy]

For those that are now buying (shame you didn't get in when it got down to $2) are you still going to sell into the offer in the off chance that it does go ahead?

If you already held shares (and voted to sell up to 100%) would you need to revote in respect of the new shares or would the old vote cover the new shares.

Is there a date on which you had to hold shares to be able to vote on and participate in the offer? Or if you buy in the next few days, can you still get the voting papers and vote?

[Steve]

Good point re future profits of AIA. A labour govt. (pressed by AIR of which it is a major shareholder) would find it very easy to impose price control on airport charges.

Protecting ones investment, so to speak?