UBS launches Auckland Airport block trade; funds pre-empt bookbuild
The equity capital markets team at UBS launched an $NZ800 million ($735 million) million block trade in Auckland International Airport shares on Thursday on behalf of Auckland Council, Street Talk can reveal.
Some $NZ300 million of the shares on offer had been pre-allocated to a select group of industry and pension funds at a weighted average price of $8.12. That represented a premium of 3.8 per cent to the last close.
A hefty chunk of Auckland International Airport shares were set to fly on Thursday.
Those funds had been seeking to pre-empt what would be a “broadly distributed” bookbuild to secure sizeable allocations, sources said.
The remaining shares, representing a $517 million slice of the company, have been underwritten by UBS at Thursday’s volume weighted average price of $7.82 a share, and sold via a variable bookbuild up to a maximum price of $8.20 in 2¢ increments. The book was covered just after launch at the floor price, with numerous bids up to the cap.
The bookbuild had been slated to close late on Thursday. The $7.82 floor price was pegged at a 0.6 per cent discount to the five-day volume weighted average price and was 4.5 per cent lower than the 30-day equivalent.
Fund managers were told to expect allocations before market open on Friday. The block trade would leave the Auckland Council with 11 per cent of the company. Investors were expected to scramble for the rump of the block, given it’s been one of the most highly anticipated ECM deals of the year and follows an announcement by Auckland Council on June 30 that the shares would be sold. An announcement is expected imminently.
Auckland is New Zealand’s largest airport and has been recovering from border closures triggered by the pandemic. The block
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