The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up around 0.1% to 7,315 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:
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Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)
The Sydney Airport share price jumped 34% today after receiving a takeover offer.
The offer for the ASX 200 share came from a consortium of infrastructure investors, including IFM Investors, QSuper and Global Infrastructure Management.
Sydney Airport investors are being offered an indicative price of $8.25 cash per share.
The Sydney Airport boards have commenced an assessment of the proposal.
The airport business said:
The indicative proposal has been made during a global pandemic which has deeply affected the aviation industry and the Sydney Airport share price. The indicative price is below where Sydney Airport's security price traded before the pandemic. The boards are undertaking detailed analysis of, amongst other things, whether the proposal is reflective of the underlying value of the airport given its long-term remaining concession and the expected short-term impact of the pandemic. The boards will update securityholders accordingly.
Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)
The Airtasker share price went up 1% today after giving a business update.
It said that FY21 gross marketplace volume (GMV) of $153.1 million has exceeded the prospectus forecast of $143.7 million as well as the upgraded guidance of $148 million to $152 million.
Airtasker saw a "strong" FY21 fourth quarter performance year on year, with GMV up 39.1% compared to the last quarter of FY20.
The company said it expects a softer start to the first quarter of FY22 because of lockdowns, but there's no impact to full year FY22 targets due to elevated marketplace performance going into lockdowns and historically sharp marketplace recovery.
The 14-day lockdown in Melbourne, at the end of May 2021, saw a temporary decrease in marketplace activity followed by a sharp recovery. There is no impact expected to Airtasker's full year FY22 outlook.
Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF)
The Australian Ethical share price dropped around 9% after revealing its performance fee from the fund that focuses on emerging companies.
The Emerging Companies Fund will pay a performance fee of $2.89 million after delivering a return of 51.1% after all fees, compared to the benchmark which returned 33% for the year to 30 June 2021.
Australian Ethical's performance fee revenue less tax and constitutional grant to the Australian Ethical Foundation adds to guidance on underlying profit after tax (UPAT) announced on 26 May 2021. The FY21 UPAT is expected to be between $10.7 million to $11.2 million, a mid-point increase of 18% compared to FY20.
