The Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) share price has surged higher in the first quarter of FY22. This comes despite the company not releasing any market-sensitive news since it received a revised takeover proposal last month
Currently, Australia's largest airport operator's shares are travelling 0.12% lower today to $8.22 apiece.
Image source: Getty Images
What's sending Sydney Airport shares higher lately?
Investors have been pushing the Sydney Airport share price higher following strong optimism over the resumption of international travel.
With Australia's accelerated vaccination program on track, the federal government has announced plans to open up international borders. Flights will start as early as next month to a number of selected countries.
Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has plans already in place to restart flights to popular destinations among Aussies. These are likely to include London, Los Angeles, Singapore, Vancouver, Tokyo, Hawaii, and Fiji.
New Zealand routes are expected to begin sometime before the Christmas holidays.
Should all go to plan, Sydney Airport could see passengers fill its terminals very shortly as demand is expected to considerably ramp up.
What happened to Sydney Airport in Q1 FY22?
During July, Sydney Airport shares soared by around 35% following a $22.6 billion takeover proposal by the Sydney Aviation Alliance, a consortium of infrastructure investors. The all-cash transaction deal offered to buy Australia's largest airport at $8.25 per share.
However, the Sydney Airport board knocked back the proposal just two weeks later. It stated the offer undervalued the company and was not in the best interest of shareholders.
This led the Sydney Airport share price to rocket during the first quarter of the new financial year.
Soon after, a revised conditional and non-binding proposal arrived on 16 August, sweetening the offer. The consortium of infrastructure investors tabled an improved $8.45 per share offer. Yet again, the board declined, noting the current COVID-19 environment does not reflect Sydney Airport's long-term value.
Then last month another offer arrived, upping the ante to $8.75 per share to acquire 100% of Sydney Airport shares. As such, the board appeared satisfied and allowed the consortium to conduct due diligence on a non-exclusive basis.
It is expected this will be completed sometime in the middle of this month. If approved, the consortium will put together a formal binding proposal.
About the Sydney Airport share price
Since the beginning of July, the Sydney Airport share price has accelerated on the back of several takeover offers received by the company from the Sydney Aviation Alliance.
At the moment, its shares are up more than 40% from 2 July (trading day prior to the first takeover announcement).
Sydney Airport presides a market capitalisation of roughly $22.1 billion, with approximately 2.7 billion shares on hand.
