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The Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) share price is starting the week on a positive note.

In morning trade, the pharmacy chain operator and distributor’s shares are up 3% to $1.53.

Why is the API share price rising today?

Investors have been bidding the API share price higher today after it provided an update on the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) takeover proposal.

According to the release, API has accepted a $1.55 cash per share offer from Wesfarmers to acquire 100% of the shares it does not already own via a scheme of arrangement. This will be reduced by any dividends that API pays between now and closing.

This offer represents a 35.4% premium to the undisturbed closing API share price on 9 July 2021 (prior to Wesfarmers’ first offer of $1.38 per share).

What’s the latest?

The API Board is unanimously recommending that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme. This is in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the independent expert’s report.

Each director intends to vote all of the API shares held or controlled by them in favour of the deal.

Though, the release highlights that there are a few customary conditions that require satisfying before the deal completes. These include API shareholder approval, court approval, ACCC approval, no material adverse change, and no prescribed occurrences. Two things the deal is not subject to are due diligence and financing.

A scheme meeting of API shareholders is expected to be held in the first quarter of calendar year 2022. If approved, the scheme will then be implemented shortly after and API will form the basis of a new healthcare division of Wesfarmers.

Following today’s gain, the API share price has now climbed 21% since the start of the year.

The post API (ASX:API) share price higher after accepting Wesfarmers takeover offer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rises on API takeover deal
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price lifts as rival drops out of race for API
• 2 top ASX 200 shares that might be buys today
• Why did the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price have such a great month in October?
• What were the best performing ASX real estate shares to hold in October?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 2.5% since this time yesterday, currently trading for US$62,961 (AU$85,082).

That’s down 5.9% from the fresh record of US$66,930 set on 20 October.

But the Bitcoin price still remains at historic highs. And it’s gained 310% over the past 12 months alone.

While those lofty gains will come as good news to crypto investors, it could be putting unwanted pressure on humanity’s goal to slash our global carbon output.

Why?

Soaring energy use as Bitcoin price at record highs

While you can’t actually hold them, or see them for that matter, most cryptos use a tremendous amount of energy.

In the case of Bitcoin, each transaction is verified through the blockchain. Meaning every time a token is bought or sold, numerous powerful computers across the world are employed by “miners” to confirm its legitimacy. And those computers, taken together, use a tremendous amount of electricity.

How much?

According to a study by the University of Cambridge, in 2020 Bitcoin used as much energy as all of the Netherlands, a nation with more than 17 million people. The same study showed Bitcoin used almost as much energy as all of the global gold mining activity.

That’s not a good look when nations, companies and individuals across the planet are being asked to cut their carbon emissions amid a renewed push at COP26.

Making matters worse is that alongside the rocketing Bitcoin price, crypto mining activity is picking up pace.

According to Markets Insider:

As more people start mining, the hash rate rises. Alex de Vries, founder of bitcoin energy data service Digiconomist, told Insider that it “seems inevitable” that the hash rate and electricity consumption will soon hit a new high, given the current bitcoin price.

But it’s not all bad news for Bitcoin enthusiasts.

As the Bitcoin price has been marching higher, the token’s miners have increasingly been turning to renewable energy sources to power their machines.

According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, in Q3 2021, 57.7% of the token’s energy use came from sustainable sources. That was driven in part by the exodus of miners out of China following the nation’s crackdown earlier this year. This saw an influx of miners into North America, where they have much greater access to renewable energy.

Aussie institutions embracing cryptos

High energy use or not, as the Bitcoin price traded near record highs, Australians saw the first crypto linked exchange traded fund (ETF) launch on the ASX last week. And the BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP) didn’t disappoint, seeing a record volume of trades for an ETF on its first day. (Details here.)

Commenting on the launch of the crypto ETF, Sunil Kaushik, spokesperson for global crypto platform Gemini said:

This is an exciting development not only for the crypto industry in Australia, but globally. Australian investors now have an opportunity to benefit from the growth of the blockchain economy. This disruptive technology is still in its nascency, and this listing puts Australia at the forefront of the blockchain revolution.

Where the Bitcoin price goes to from here is anyone’s guess. But with cryptos likely here to stay, the move to renewable energy sources to power their blockchain networks is welcome.

The post The Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) price is still leaping higher, and so is its energy use appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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While the outlook for interest rates is improving, it is still likely to be some time before they reach normal levels again.

In light of this, at least for the time being, the share market arguably remains the best place to earn a passive income.

But which ASX dividend shares should you consider buying? Two that are rated highly are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first dividend share to look at is Accent. It is a footwear-focused retail giant which owns a collection of popular store brands including HYPEDC, Platypus, Sneaker Lab, Stylerunner, and The Athlete’s Foot.

The popularity of these brands and their growing footprints have underpinned strong sales, profit, and dividend growth over the last few years. And while lockdowns have made it unlikely for Accent to achieve further growth in FY 2022, the long term looks very positive.

It is for this reason that the team at Bell Potter has put a buy rating and $2.90 price target on its shares. Bell Potter likes the company partly for its shift in strategic focus to innovation in its core business and expansion through new concepts and small targeted acquisitions.

The broker is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 9.3 cents in FY 2022 and 13.3 cents in FY 2023. Based on the latest Accent share price of $2.54, this represents yields of 3.65% and 5.2%, respectively.

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

Another ASX dividend share for income investors to look at is the Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT. As its name implies, this real estate investment trust focuses on investing in social infrastructure properties.

These properties include childcare centres, government sites, and healthcare buildings. The company added to its portfolio last week with the acquisition of two premium childcare assets in Queensland and a healthcare property owned by Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) for a total of $58.4 million.

Goldman Sachs was pleased with the acquisitions. In response, the broker retained its conviction buy rating, increased its price target to $3.91, and lifted its FY 2022 dividend estimate to 16.9 cents per share.

Based on the current Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT share price of $3.83, this implies a dividend yield of 4.4% for investors.

The post 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY) share price is pushing higher on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the energy producer’s shares are up 4.5% to $4.65.

Why is the Senex share price charging higher?

The Senex share price is on the move today after revealing that it has received a further improved non-binding proposal from POSCO International Corporation.

According to the release, POSCO has increased its takeover proposal to $4.60 cash per share.

This is up from previous offers of $4.00 per share in July, $4.20 per share in August, and $4.40 per share in September. In addition, the company notes that it still intends to pay shareholders a 5 cents per share dividend for the six months ending 31 December.

Will a deal be done?

On this occasion, the Senex Board appear pleased with POSCO’s offer.

Subject to negotiating an acceptable scheme implementation agreement, no superior proposal, and the independent expert’s report, the Senex Board intends to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the proposed transaction.

It also notes that it has agreed to extend POSCO’s exclusivity period to 26 November. This is to provide time to negotiate and enter into a binding agreement and for POSCO to obtain its internal approvals. POSCO has confirmed to Senex that it has now completed all of its due diligence enquiries.

Senex highlights that during the diligence process, it provided information to POSCO in respect of its proposed acquisition of APLNG natural gas fields PL 209 and PL 445 for $80 million, which was announced to the market today. POSCO has confirmed to Senex that its cash offer price is inclusive of the value attributable to the proposed acquisition of these natural gas fields.

POSCO also informed Senex that it wishes to enter into discussions and share information with Hancock Energy. This is regarding the possible participation of Hancock should the proposed scheme be successful.

The Senex share price is up a massive 84% in 2021.

The post Senex (ASX:SXY) share price charges higher after agreeing takeover deal with POSCO appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is pushing higher on Monday following the release of an update on its takeover approach for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API).

At the time of writing, the conglomerate’s shares are up slightly to $60.74.

Wesfarmers share price higher after takeover update

Investors have been bidding the Wesfarmers share price higher today after it reached an agreement with Priceline pharmacy chain operator Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API).

According to the release, the two parties have entered into a scheme implementation deed (SID) under which it is proposed that Wesfarmers will acquire 100% of the shares in API that it does not already own via a scheme of arrangement.

Wesfarmers will be paying a cash consideration of $1.55 per API share, less any dividends that are paid. While this represents only a modest premium to the latest API share price, it is a 35.4% premium to its undisturbed closing share price on 9 July 2021.

What now?

The API Board is unanimously recommending that API shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to the independent expert’s report. Each director intends to vote all of the API shares held or controlled by them in favour of it.

The scheme remains subject to customary conditions, including API shareholder approval, court approval, ACCC approval, no material adverse change, and no prescribed occurrences. However, the scheme is not subject to due diligence or financing. The SID also contains exclusivity provisions for Wesfarmers and reciprocal break fees payable in certain circumstances.

Why acquire API?

Wesfarmers’ Managing Director, Rob Scott, expects the acquisition of API to provide an attractive opportunity to enter the growing health, wellbeing, and beauty sector.

He said: “Wesfarmers continues to see opportunities to invest in and strengthen the competitive position of API and its community pharmacy partners by expanding ranges, improving supply chain capabilities and enhancing the online experience for customers.”

Mr Scott also revealed that Wesfarmers will not be making any changes to API’s community pharmacy model.

“In addition to our discussions with API management, we have engaged with industry stakeholders during due diligence. As we have previously stated, Wesfarmers supports the community pharmacy model, including the pharmacy ownership and location rules. Wesfarmers recognises the importance of strong relationships with our trading partners and we look forward to working closely with API’s pharmacy partners, suppliers and other industry stakeholders,” he added.

The Wesfarmers share price is up 18% in 2021.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rises on API takeover deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price lifts as rival drops out of race for API
• 2 top ASX 200 shares that might be buys today
• Why did the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price have such a great month in October?
• What were the best performing ASX real estate shares to hold in October?
• What’s going on with the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) API takeover bid?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price has gained more than 40% since this time last year. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up around 20% over the same timeframe.

The regional bank’s shares are hovering around November 2019 levels. However, they are still a long way off the record high $13 mark seen in 2015.

In early morning trade on Monday, Bank of Queensland shares are heading higher, up 0.11% to $8.71.

What did Bank of Queensland last report?

The bank delivered its full-year results for the 2021 financial year on 13 October. Investors reacted negatively to the news, sending the company’s shares down 4.32% on the day. This is despite Bank of Queensland reporting strong growth across key metrics.

In summary, statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) for FY21 rose 221% year over year to $369 million. An increased net interest income and credit to loan impairment expense, partly offset by higher operating expenses, underpinned the result.

Management notes that the digital transformation and ME Bank integration is executing as planned. Bank of Queensland is aiming for all of its retail brands to operate from a common cloud-based digital platform.

How much is the bank scheduled to pay in dividends?

Bank of Queensland will pay a fully-franked FY21 dividend of 22 cents per share on 18 November. This was a substantial increase on the first-half dividend of 17 cents and almost double the FY20 dividend of 12 cents.

When calculating against the current share price, Bank of Queensland is trailing on a forecast fully-franked dividend yield of 4.4%. The payout ratio is calculated to be 61% of the bank’s profits.

It’s worth remembering that the company has paid relatively consistent dividends over the years. Before the onset of COVID-19, the regional bank had been paying shareholders fully-franked dividends of above 30 cents on a biannual basis.

Bank of Queensland share price summary

In 2021, the Bank of Queensland share price has continued to rise in value, gaining more than 15% for investors.

Bank of Queensland commands a market capitalisation of $5.57 billion, with about 640.88 million shares on its books.

The post The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is now trading on a forecast 4.4% fully-franked dividend yield appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Is the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price worth looking at with a grossed-up dividend yield of around 5%?

Coles is one of the largest supermarket businesses in Australia, with over 800 supermarket locations. The business also has other segments including Coles Online, Coles Liquor, Coles Express, loyalty program Flybuys and Coles Financial Services.

The Coles Liquor business has over 900 stores across Liquorland, Vintage Cellars, First Choice Liquor and First Choice Liquor Market.

What is the Coles dividend yield right now?

In FY21, the Coles board decided to pay a total dividend of $0.61 per share. That was an increase of 6.1% compared to the total payment from FY20. This came after a 1.8% increase to the final dividend, bringing it to $0.28 per share.

Coles generated a total of 75.3 cents of earnings per share (EPS) in FY21. That means the supermarket business paid out around 81% of its FY21 profit to investors. This shows that Coles is keeping close to 20% of its net profit to re-invest back into the business.

At the current Coles share price, it has a trailing dividend yield of 4.9%.

Will the dividend grow in FY22?

The next 12 months of dividends may be similar to the last 12 months. Commsec numbers suggest a slight increase of the annual dividend to 61.4 cents per share.

Other analysts have similar thoughts. The brokers at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) think that Coles could pay an annual dividend per share of 61.2 cents.

Latest trading update

How a business performs with its sales can have a sizeable impact on profit and potentially the board’s thoughts on the dividend. Trading updates can also influence the Coles share price.

Coles recently gave an update for its first quarter numbers, showing sales generated in the 13 weeks from 28 June 2021 to 26 September 2021.

Supermarkets sales came to $8.62 billion, an increase of 1.8% year on year and 11.9% over two years. The online penetration of that was 9% for the quarter. Supermarket e-commerce sales grew by 48%.

Liquor sales were $874 million, which was up 2.6% compared to the first quarter of FY21 and up 20.4% compared to two years ago. Finally, Coles Express sales were $262 million, down 10.1% year on year and down 0.8% over two years.

The total sales for Coles were $9.756 billion for the first quarter, up 1.5% year on year and up 12.2% in two years.

Coles said that it’s on track to deliver ‘smarter selling’ benefits of more than $200 million in FY22.

The supermarket business is optimistic about the Christmas and the holiday period as families and friends get together again.

In the first four weeks of the second quarter of FY22, supermarket comparable sales were “broadly in-line” with the first quarter. Lower COVID-19 costs are expected in the second half of FY22, as changes to isolation policies lead to moderating impacts in November and December.

It also said that construction delays mean that some of its capital program will be re-phased into FY23.

Is the Coles share price a buy?

Macquarie thinks so, rating Coles as a buy, with a price target of $19.80. That suggests the brokers think that the shares can rise around 10% over the next 12 months. It’s valued at 23x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post Is the Coles (ASX:COL) share price a buy for the 5% dividend yield? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Ltd (ASX: PWR) share price is in focus on Monday. This comes as the new and used car dealership operator announces its expansion through a substantial $104 million acquisition this morning.

At the time of writing, shares in the company are sitting at $3.00 ahead of the market opening today.

Let’s walk through the car dealerships’ latest announcement.

Expanding Melbourne presence with Penfold Motor

In its first acquisition since commencing its listed life on the ASX, Peter Warren Automotive has made a land grab for a Melbourne-based car dealership. The move will see the 63-year-old company explore outside its current bounds of Queensland and New South Wales.

According to the release, Peter Warren has agreed to acquire 100% of Penfold Motor Group. The automotive dealership being acquired is a family-owned and operated outfit that began its operations in 1964. Currently, Penfold has 10 leasehold operations sprawled across South and East Melbourne.

Additionally, Penfold Motor Group’s portfolio of brands includes Audi, Mazda, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Suzuki. These recognisable vehicle brands align with those that are within Peter Warren Automotive’s offerings.

In terms of the business financials, Penfold recorded $354 million in revenue in the FY21 full year. This metric was achieved despite the significant disruptions imposed by lockdowns at the fault of COVID-19. Furthermore, the deal is expected to be double-digit earnings per share (EPS) accretive on a pro forma FY22 basis.

To fund the acquisition, the company will be providing $88 million in cash. This will be partly from existing cash reserves and partly through the drawdown of new debt facilities. Lastly, a $16 million portion of the total $104 million consideration will be a scrip component.

For the purpose of the scrip deal, 5.2 million new shares will be issued to shareholders of Penfold Motor Group at $3.02 per share.

Peter Warren Automotive share price snapshot

Peter Warren Automotive was listed on the ASX back in April of this year. Despite posting revenue and earnings growth in its maiden full-year result on the public market, shares in the company have underperformed.

Since listing, the Peter Warren Automotive share price has fallen 13.3%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 6% over the same time period.

The post Peter Warren Automotive (ASX:PWR) share price in view amid $104m acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has accelerated over the past 11 months, up 33%. This comes as Australia’s largest telco provider has managed to navigate its way around COVID-19 and the NBN headwind.

At the end of Friday, the telco’s shares recorded gains of 1.27% to $3.98.

What’s driving Telstra shares upwards in 2021?

Without a doubt, the Telstra share price has been on fire this year, buoyed by upbeat investor sentiment.

The company’s mobile division has been a standout performer as Australians continue to work from home. In addition, management’s focus on cutting down costs across the business has had a positive effect on its share price.

Telstra’s acquisition of Pacific-based telco, Digicel is also expected to provide ample returns with relatively low risk. The telco paid US$270 million while the Australian government chipped in the majority of the $1.6 billion price tag.

The deal is anticipated to be earnings per share accretive, more than a share buyback.

More recently, the company signed a significant renewal contract with the Australian Department of Defence.

Extended for 5-years and worth over $1 billion, the agreement will see Telstra deliver critical network and telecommunications services.

It’s the largest ever customer contract signed by Telstra Enterprise and will aid the business in returning to growth.

Are Telstra shares a buy?

A couple of brokers have weighed in on the company’s share price last month.

Australian leading investment firm, Morgans raised its price target for Telstra shares by 2.5% to $4.55.

Analysts at Goldman reaffirmed their outlook on Telstra shares as a ‘buy‘, putting a price target of $4.40. Based on the current share price, this implies an upside of around 10%.

Goldman Sachs remains bullish following Telstra’s T25 update, which highlighted a number of initiatives to boost future growth.

Telstra share price snapshot

In 2021, the Telstra share price has gained above 30%, reaching pre-pandemic levels. If the company’s share price can push above $4.05 today, it will be at a multi-year high from 2017.

Telstra commands a market capitalisation of around $47.34 billion, making it the 10th largest company on the ASX.

The post Here’s why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is up 33% so far in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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A consortium of investors led by IFM Investors and Global Infrastructure Partners will take the reigns of Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) after the trio agreed to a deal over the weekend.

After a period of due diligence, Sydney Airport’s board has unanimously agreed to advance with the deal.

The transaction values Sydney Airport securities at $8.75 per share. This is equal to the final offer the consortium made earlier this year.

After the company’s share price finished in the green at $8.23 last week, this represents a 6% premium before the open today.

Here is what we know so far.

What do we know about the Sydney Airport acquisition?

Under the scheme of arrangement, Sydney Airport shareholders will receive a number of considerations, including the $8.75 in cash per stapled share.

UniSuper Limited is also expected to transfer its existing interest of 15.01% “for an equivalent interest in the holding structure of the consortium.”

Sydney Airport’s board has unanimously recommended its shareholders vote in favour of the scheme. Shareholders will have their chance to vote at an upcoming scheme meeting planned for Q1 2022.

The consortium, which calls itself the Sydney Aviation Alliance, originally put in offers of $8.25 and then $8.45 per share respectively. Sydney Airport’s board declined both of these offers.

As such, the revised offer values Sydney Airport’s equity at $23.6 billion with the $8.75 per share bid.

This equates to an enterprise value of almost $32 billion on the company when including its debt and preferred equity, then stripping out its cash.

Hence, the deal also represents an approximate $2 billion or 6.7% premium to Sydney Airport’s current enterprise value of $30 billion.

But it’s not going to be all smooth sailing from here, especially for the consortium buying Australia’s largest airport.

Under the legislature, no single investor can own more than 15% of any two major Australian airports. That includes Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane.

The rules are in place to protect consumers and prevent airport owners from price gouging and manipulating the price function of airline tickets.

But IFM – one party leading the Sydney Aviation Alliance consortium – already owns significant stakes in Melbourne and Brisbane’s airports, and has done for many years.

For instance, it owns a 25% stake in the Melbourne airport and is a 20% owner of the Brisbane airport. Under the legislature, it can only own a 15% stake in its newly-acquired asset.

As such, IFM has some prudent portfolio management decisions to make, but may also argue its other airport interests should be classified differently due to the new consortium structure.

What’s next for Sydney Airport shareholders?

The scheme is still yet to be approved by shareholders, who will vote in the first quarter of 2022 at the planned scheme meetings.

The resolutions must be approved by at least 75% of the vote cast by shareholders, per the company.

The deal is also subject to a number of conditions and still must pass a fair bit of scrutiny before finalisation.

For instance, it still requires approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and must seek approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

As for now, it appears the wheels are set in motion for the deal to go ahead, pending the full approval of Sydney Airport’s shareholders.

For the record, this deal represents the largest ever cash bid for a publicly listed company in Australia, should it all go ahead according to plan.

At the minute, Sydney Airport shareholders have been instructed to take no action until the upcoming meetings.

Sydney Airport share price snapshot

The deal represents an almost $8 billion hike from the original offer laid down by the Sydney Aviation Alliance.

The Sydney Airport share price is expected to open at $8.23 today. It has climbed 39% in the last 12 months after rallying 28% this year to date.

Both of these results are ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)‘s 20% climb in the last year.

The post Confirmed: $32 billion Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) deal to land today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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