Adelaide Airport stake on the market as Australian airport sales heat up again

The on-sales of privatised Australian airports (the sales of their lengthy concessions, usually partly where multiple investors are involved) continues apace. Recent ones have included Perth, and both the Queensland and North Queensland groups.

Now it is the turn of Adelaide Airport, where one of the current investors, an infrastructure manger, is reported to be interested in moving on amid the churn that that has afflicted the sector since questions started to be asked about the relative value of airport investment in Australia (that question shouldn't even arise - they are barely regulated and a goldmine compared to many other parts of the world) and also whether there is overkill in play, especially among pension funds.

But in this instance it looks at first glance like the equity might merely slip from one infrastructure fund manager to another - the new one being a much bigger beast.

A brief glance at the attributes of Adelaide shows that its profile is a pension fund's dream - solid and unwavering traffic - but not necessarily to the immediate taste of a more speculative investor.