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image credit: Reuters A$22.26 billion ($16.7 billion; £12.1 billion) has been offered to the owner of Australia’s busiest airport. The proposal, which is below its pre-pandemic stock market valuation, is being considered, according to Sydney Airport. Its stock soared more than 30% after the takeover approach was disclosed, considered as a sign of confidence in the recovery of air traffic following the pandemic. If the anticipated purchase goes through, it will be the country’s largest deal this year. IFM Investors, QSuper, and Global Infrastructure Management formed a consortium to make an offer of A$8.25 per share, which is more than 40% higher than Sydney Airport’s closing price on Friday. However, it remains significantly behind the A$8.86 record high reached by the company’s shares in January 2020, before the epidemic caused a drop in demand for air travel. The offer comes less than a week after Australia declared a halving of international arrivals in the wake of a new wave of Covid outbreaks that sent half of the country under quarantine this week. Only Australians and people with exemptions have been allowed to enter the nation due to the government’s stringent border controls. To combat the Delta strain, Australia will reduce arrivals by half. Qantas is accelerating cost-cutting measures as a $1.5 billion loss looms. Sydney Airport reported in May that international traffic was 93 percent lower than the same month last year. Domestic traffic fell by 39.2 percent during the same time period. Australia will welcome little over 3,000 people every week starting on July 14th, a measure that is expected to extend until next year. With the scheduled construction of Western Sydney Airport in 2026, Sydney Airport’s monopoly on traffic to and from Australia’s largest metropolis will come to an end. Sydney Airport Holdings is the country’s only publicly traded airport operator; the country’s other major airports are held by infrastructure investment organizations. Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide are among the major Australian airports in which IFM has a stake. London’s Heathrow Airport is owned by QSuper, and Gatwick and London City Airports are owned by Global Infrastructure. Air travel in Australia/nRead More

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