A report published in The Australian on the weekend has revealed that Goodman Group is in the process of selling Moorabbin Airport.
According to the report, Goodman is in negotiations with a consortium composed of international investment company Barings and four superannuation companies including Aware Super, which owns the leases on Bankstown and Camden Airports.
The value of the sale has been estimated at $1.5 billion.
Goodman Group is the 100% owner of Moorabbin Airport Corporation, which holds the lease to the airport. Since acquiring the lease, Goodman has invested over $500 million in the airport in both aviation and non-aviation development, with plans to invest another $285 million before 2029.
Much of the investment has been in commercial development such as Chifley Business Park, Kingston Central Plaza and Direct Factory Outlets. Of the 294 hectares under lease, the airfield precinct occupies only 92 hectares, leaving significant space for commercial development.
Barings has been an investment and development partner in Bankstown Airport for several years, but now would appear to be keen to acquire their own airport lease. The global investment goliath is thought to have investments in Australia worth $9 billion.
Consortium partner Aware Super acquired the lease to Bankstown and Camden when it bought Sydney Metro Airports in 2015, renaming the company Aeria Management Group (AMG). Aware is the sole owner of AMG.
Rest Super is another of the four super companies reportedly in the consortium. Rest has a financial stake in Australia Pacific Airports Corporation, which holds the leases to Melbourne and Launceston airports.
Under the Airports Act 1996, the minister must approve the transfer of any leases, and theoretically one company is not permitted to lease more than one airport. However, precedence exists in the lease ownerships of Bankstown and Camden, Adelaide and Parafield, and Melbourne and Launceston.
When asked about dual ownership, a spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure and Transport told Australian Flying:
"It is incumbent on Airport Lessee Companies to ensure that any approvals required under the Airports Act 1996 and associated regulations are in place before giving effect to any proposed ownership changes.
"As details of the proposed transaction involving MAC is a commercial matter for the parties involved, the department has no further comment."
The department does not recognise that some companies own the leases for more than one airport because the name on the lease for each airport is different even though the parent company is the same.