15.3% Stake in Adelaide Airport on the Market

Igneo Infrastructure Partners has instructed Barrenjoey Capital Partners to find a buyer for its 15.3% shareholding in Adelaide Airport (ADL), according to the Australian Financial Review. The sale includes a stake in nearby Parafield Airport and a tranche of industrial land.

Igneo, which is owned by Mitsubishi, is looking at trousering more than AUD600 million (USD389 million) from the sale – minus the banker’s clip.

Adelaide Airport handles over eight million passengers annually and a growing roster of airline customers. In recent months, Indonesia AirAsia has started flights from Denpasar (DPS), Cathay Pacific said it would come back later this year, having axed flight at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and United Airlines will run flights to San Francisco (SFO) over the summer – the airport’s first and only nonstop link with North America.

In addition, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Fiji Airways, Emirates, Jetstar, and Cathay Pacific all fly between Adelaide and international markets, while Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Rex – Regional Express have a big presence in the terminal’s domestic sections. Adelaide Airport says all the foreign operators flying in before Covid-19 are back.

The airport is on a roll, and with passenger and aircraft traffic increasing, Igneo Infrastructure Partners may have decided the time is right to cash out.

In addition to Igneo, industry super fund UniSuper owns 50.5% of Adelaide Airport. Other shareholders include IFM (15.1%), HostPlus (15%), and Perth’s Perron Family Office (4.1%). All hold pre-emption rights.

Igneo Infrastructure Partners reportedly wants the sale concluded by the end of the year.

Photo: Daniel Talbot Aviation Photography via Adelaide Airport