ASX-listed Sydney Airport Holdings (ASX: SYD) has placed shares in a trading halt today to announce its acquisition of the remaining 15.2% interest in Sydney Airport that the company didn't already own. The acquisition will be completed through a mix of equity placement and stock swaps, and is subject to investor approval at an extraordinary general meeting.
This brings the company's ownership to 100% and will help to simplify its corporate structure. Overall, it's an unsurprising move, as the company has let it be known for years that it would like to buy out the remaining interest. Sydney Airport's minority shareholders have included Australian superannuation funds, Hochtief AirPort, and the Future Fund.
Sydney Airport Holdings chief executive Kerrie Mather said in a statement that, "The acquisitions have been structured to ensure that there is no ownership dilution of our 38,000 existing SYD investors which include many of the world's largest superannuation funds and thousands of Australian retail holders. These investors continue to hold the same proportionate interest in Sydney Airport's predictable, resilient and growing cash flows."
The company also took the opportunity to reaffirm its 2013 distribution guidance of 22.5 cents per security.
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Motley Fool writer/analyst Catherine Baab-Muguira owns no shares in any company mentioned in this article.
