The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is shaking off the shackles today, it seems.
The ASX 200 is giving investors a healthy 1.1% bump so far at the time of writing and is now trading at 7,377 points.
But one ASX 200 share isn't joining the party. That's Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD).
The Sydney Airport share price is bucking the ASX 200's positive mood today. The airport operator is down 0.36% to $8.21 a share so far.
So, why is this blue-chip share not keeping up with the ASX 200?
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An avalanche of takeover offers
Well, if you weren't aware, the most consequential catalyst behind the Sydney Airport share price of late has been the avalanche of potential takeover offers received by the company.
This saga has been going on for a few months now. But the stakes were raised once again just last week.
That was when a consortium of potential investors, including IFM Investors and QSuper, increased their prior bid of $8.45 a share for Sydney Airport to $8.75 a share.
The Sydney Airport board told investors on Monday that it is satisfied with this offer. It said it will grant the consortium "due diligence on a non-exclusive basis". This allows the offer to move forward towards a binding proposal.
However, we got some news today that might be impacting the Sydney Airport share price in this light.
What's keeping the Sydney Airport share price grounded today?
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, some investors are planning on voting against the proposed takeover offer. This protest vote is reportedly on the grounds that "mega funds like IFM Investors are forcing smaller shareholders out of good Australian companies", according to the article.
Michael Pinn, director of financial advisory group Pinn Deavin and a long-term Sydney Airport shareholder told the AFR:
The takeover parties are offering $8.75 per share because they think it is worth more than that. There is no long-term windfall in this offer for the current shareholders …
This behaviour forces small investors to either consider poorer quality investments, or to allow these mega funds to manage their money for them so as to access the better quality investments.
If enough Sydney Airport shareholders share a similar sentiment, then it could potentially throw a spanner into the proverbial takeover works.
The takeover offer hinges on at least 50% of voting shareholders casting an affirmative vote.
Sydney Airport share price snapshot
Sydney Airport shares are up 28% year to date and 41.5% over 12 months.
At the current Sydney Airport share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $22.18 billion.
