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- Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport Acquisition & Valuation
Sydney Airport was acquired by IFM Investors, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Global Infrastructure Partners and UniSuper for $24B in March 2022, a 21.1x multiple on $1.1B of revenue.
Sydney Airport acquisition price
$24B
Acquired by IFM Investors, Australian Retirement Trust +3 · Mar 2022
Sydney Airport revenue at acquisition
$1.1B
Last twelve months · Mar 2022
Sydney Airport revenue multiple at acquisition
21.1x
EV/Revenue · Mar 2022
Sydney Airport EBITDA multiple at acquisition
25.0x
EV/EBITDA · Mar 2022
Sydney Airport Overview
About Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport Holdings is the listed holding company that owned and operated Sydney Airport during the period of ADIA’s investment. It serves airlines, passengers, cargo operators, retailers and ground-transport providers using Australia’s principal international gateway, and its products or services sit inside day-to-day operating or consumer workflows rather than acting as a passive holding vehicle. The business earns revenue through aeronautical charges, retail and property rents, parking and ground-transport fees. Founded in 2002 and based in Sydney, Sydney Airport Holdings operates across Sydney through domestic and international terminals, runways and associated commercial property. ADIA disclosed that it acquired slightly more than 5% of MAp Airports in 2011 before that group was renamed Sydney Airport Holdings. The company was later acquired by a separate institutional consortium in 2022. Customers choose the company for a scarce metropolitan airport location, international traffic and diversified aviation and commercial revenue streams, while its capital base supports the people, technology, physical assets and regulatory capabilities needed to deliver those services. Its profile in this research is that of an operating company with identifiable customers and commercial revenue, even where long-term institutional shareholders own a material stake.
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B & B2C
Revenue model
Usage-based
Revenue
$1.1B (Mar 2022)
Valuation
$24B (acquired Mar 2022)
Sectors
Sydney Airport Acquisition
Sydney Airport was acquired by IFM Investors, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Global Infrastructure Partners and UniSuper for $24B on 15 March 2022.
The acquisition price implies a 21.1x revenue and 25.0x EBITDA multiple on $1.1B of revenue.
The Sydney Aviation Alliance consortium acquired Sydney Airport by scheme of arrangement in March 2022, in the largest cash takeover in Australian corporate history. Shareholders approved the AUD 23,600 million equity consideration, and the parties reported an enterprise value of AUD 32,000 million. The enterprise value is equivalent to approximately USD 23,596 million at the March 2022 average AUD/USD rate of 0.73736 (Frankfurter/ECB reference rates); on the same rate the equity consideration equates to about USD 17,402 million. More than 96 per cent of votes cast were in favour. Sydney Airport is Australia's largest airport by passengers and its principal international gateway, connecting to more than 100 destinations. It handled about 44 million passengers in 2019 before the pandemic. The consortium comprised the IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund and the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust and Global Infrastructure Partners, joined at completion by UniSuper, which rolled over its existing shareholding. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission cleared the transaction and Allens advised on the takeover.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Mar 2022 | PE buyout | $24B | 21.1x | 25.0x |
Sources: announcements.asx.com.au, flightglobal.com, en.wikipedia.org
Sydney Airport Funding History
Sydney Airport has 1 recorded secondary share sale and no primary funding rounds.
| Date | Stage | Investors | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2011 | Secondary | Abu Dhabi Investment Authority | ADIA announced in May 2011 that a subsidiary had acquired slightly more than 5% of MAp Airports, the listed airport investment company later renamed Sydney Airport Holdings. At that time the company held interests in Sydney and other airports, and the subsequent simplification concentrated the group around Sydney Airport. The airport business earns aeronautical charges, property and retail rents, parking and ground-transport revenue from a scarce metropolitan gateway. ADIA’s official annual review presents the purchase as a direct infrastructure investment and does not disclose price or an exact day. The stored date reflects the counterparty announcement date; it is not inferred from a URL or publication identifier. |
Who has invested in Sydney Airport?
1 investor has backed Sydney Airport across its funding rounds, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Sydney Airport Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 1 Sydney Airport investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
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Start Free TrialSydney Airport Competitors
Sydney Airport competitors include listed companies like Airports Of Thailand, AerCap, FTAI Aviation and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, and private ones like Adani Airports and Perth Airport.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $2B | $1.1B | $25B | 12.7x | ||
| Publicly listed | $8.5B | $6.8B | $26B | 7.4x | ||
| Private | $1.4B | $565M | $19B | 13.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $2.5B | $1.1B | $18B | 5.9x | ||
| Publicly listed | $2.2B | $1.1B | $14B | 7.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $4.6B | - |
Sydney Airport Public Comps
Sydney Airport is no longer listed, but its public comps include Airports Of Thailand, AerCap, FTAI Aviation, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, Aéroports de Paris, GMR Airports, Shanghai Airport, Auckland International Airport, Flughafen Zuerich and ASUR.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $2B | $1.1B | 13.2x | 12.7x | 23.7x | 22.1x | |||
| $8.5B | $6.8B | 7.8x | 7.4x | 9.7x | 8.7x | |||
| $2.5B | $1.1B | 8.6x | 5.9x | 20.1x | 16.3x | |||
| $2.2B | $1.1B | 7.4x | 7.0x | 14.5x | 12.7x | |||
| $7.5B | $2.2B | 3.1x | 3.1x | 10.4x | 9.0x | |||
| $1.4B | $617M | 10.6x | 9.2x | 24.3x | 22.7x | |||
| $2B | $939M | 4.9x | 4.8x | 10.5x | 11.1x | |||
| $540M | $355M | 18.3x | 16.2x | 27.8x | 23.1x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Sydney Airport competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Sydney Airport
| Where is Sydney Airport headquartered? | Sydney Airport is headquartered in Australia. |
| Is Sydney Airport publicly listed? | No, Sydney Airport was acquired by IFM Investors, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper and 2 other investors in March 2022. |
| Who acquired Sydney Airport? | Sydney Airport was acquired by IFM Investors, Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Global Infrastructure Partners and UniSuper in March 2022. |
| How much was Sydney Airport acquired for? | Sydney Airport was acquired for $24B in March 2022, a 21.1x revenue multiple. |
| Who are Sydney Airport's investors? | Sydney Airport's investors include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. |
| Which companies are comparable to Sydney Airport? | Companies comparable to Sydney Airport include Airports Of Thailand, AerCap, Adani Airports, FTAI Aviation, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico and Perth Airport. |
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