Auckland International Airport Finds Buyers for Australian Airport Stake -- Update

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Auckland International Airport (AIA.NZ) will sell its quarter stake in airports in regional Australia to existing investors for 370 million Australian dollars (US$295 million) following a review.

Two existing stakeholders, Perron Investments and The Infrastructure Fund, have already agreed they will accept the entire 24.6% stake in North Queensland Airports (NQA) offered by Auckland International Airport, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Auckland International Airport wants to sell the stake to focus on its business in New Zealand, where a major facilities upgrade is planned over the next five years.

NQA operates two airports in Australia's Queensland state, at Cairns and Mackay.

"After an extensive process, we are very pleased to have reached a position that will result in a sale of our entire interest and that two existing and experienced infrastructure investors have agreed to support NQA in the next stage of its development," said Chief Executive Adrian Littlewood.

Auckland International Airport said the deal would be subject to regulatory and counterparty approvals "if any" and that it was being advised by First NZ Capital, Credit Suisse and MinterEllison.

Write to Ben Collins at ben.collins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 15, 2018 15:28 ET (20:28 GMT)