PETALING JAYA: Existing institutional shareholders of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) have expressed strong interest in taking up a placement exercise that the airport operator is about to begin, sources said.
MAHB, which has just completed a roadshow for investors, will soon start a book-building exercise for a 10% placement of new shares to raise close to RM1bil.
The proceeds from the exercise will be used to buy 40% equity in Turkey’s Sabiha Gokcen airport, a deal that had already been announced by MAHB.
With this, its stake in the airport will be raised to 60%, making it the single-largest shareholder in the second-largest airport in Istanbul.
MAHB executives were on a roadshow to meet fund managers in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and London last week and the initial feedback is that there was “good demand for the shares”, revealed a source.
MAHB will issue 122 new shares for the placement. The investment bankers appointed to handle the book building are CIMB, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan.
Sources said that major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which had previously lowered its stake from 72% to 40%, would not be taking up the placement. Hence, the placement exercise would dilute Khazanah’s stake to 36%, sources added. “This is part of Khazanah’s plan to pare down its stake in MAHB. But other shareholders are keen to ensure they are not diluted,” said a source.
MAHB’s major institutional investors include Employees Provident Fund (11.6%), Permodalan Nasional Bhd (16%), JP Morgan (2.8%) Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (1.1%) and Singapore GIC (0.92%).
This is the second time MAHB is placing out shares to raise cash. In 2012, it had raised RM650mil to pare off old debts to the Government via a 10% share placement and offered a 2% discount.
“Some funds are concerned that they aren’t going to get enough allocation for the placement and have started nibbling on the stock,” said a source.
MAHB had earlier said it was buying the 40% in Turkey’s Sabiha Gokcen airport for 225 million euros cash (RM1bil) from India’s GMR Group, which is divesting its stakes in its international assets.
Ataturk International Airport is the largest airport in Istanbul, but is facing capacity constraints. Although Sabiha Gokcen airport is making losses, according to MAHB, it should turn profitable either this year or next.
MAHB had, in 2008, bought 20% of the same airport for about RM125mil prior to its construction.
Besides Turkey, MAHB owns stakes in two airports in India – 10% in Delhi Airport and 11% in GMR Hyderabad Airport.
Locally, it manages all the airports in the country expect for Johor’s Senai Airport.
MAHB is raising its stake in Sabiha Gokcen to diversify its earning and see long-term prospects in the airport.
Analysts are upbeat on MAHB’s move to increase its stake in Sabiha Gokcen, as the Turkish airport is seen as a strong asset for the company and the move would benefit it in the long run.
Meanwhile, sources said MAHB would today receive the long-awaited certificate of fitness for its KLIA2 airport.
They said the Fire and Rescue Department had inspected the main terminal building and issued a letter to KLIA2 consultants that the building was now fit for public occupation.
This paves the way for MAHB to begin conducting the operational readiness and airport transfer on a wide scale so that it can meet the May 2 deadline for the opening of Asia’s biggest low-cost air terminal.
– THE STAR
