Squiz Today – Tuesday, 9 November

THE SQUIZ
After 5 months of negotiating, a consortium of superannuation-related giants has won support from the board of Sydney Airport to take it off their hands. The price: $23.6 billion, which equates to $8.75 a share – up from July’s offer of $8.25. If it goes through, it will be the 3rd biggest deal in Australian corporate history following Afterpay’s stonking $39 billion acquisition by Square this year and Westfield’s sale in 2017 for $27.6 billion. Sydney Airport’s chairman David Gonski recommended shareholders approve the offer because it represents “appropriate long term value for the airport”.

UMM WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?
Two reasons. Who owns Australia’s critical infrastructure is good to know. As Oz’s busiest domestic and international airport, those who run it say 300,000 jobs are directly and indirectly reliant on its operations – pre-pandemic, of course. And second: you might become a shareholder if the deal goes through. Well, kinda… The group behind the bid is Sydney Aviation Alliance, and it’s made up of Australian funds IFM Investors, QSuper and AustralianSuper, and US-based Global Infrastructure Partners. The Aussie side manages the superannuation funds of millions of Aussies. Maybe you’ll get a discount on your parking if you’re a member? Actually, don’t be ridiculous, they’d never give away that much money…

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
There are oh so many regulatory hoops for Sydney Aviation Alliance to jump through… Under the Airports Act, no single investor can own more than 15% of Sydney Airport + Perth, Brissie, or Melbourne. Members of the consortium already have investments in the Aussie airport biz, so that has to be sorted out. The ACCC – Oz’s competition regulator – is looking it over and will deliver a report next month. The deal must also get clearance from the Foreign Investment Review Board. And then there are shareholders of Sydney Airports to ask… They get a vote on the deal at a meeting on 24 January. Other lightning strikes that might force an emergency landing: some current investors will need to be convinced that the offer is a good one given the pandemic’s hit on international travel and its effect on the airport’s price. And the airlines aren’t happy saying charges could increase if ownership becomes more concentrated. We might need to brace for turbulence…

Getting ready for electric cars

PM Scott Morrison is back in the country and ready to mingle… On the cards today: a $178 million funding announcement to support a shift to electric vehicles (EVs). At the last election, the Morrison Government opposed Labor’s policy to have EVs make up 50% of new car sales by 2030. These days, the Coalition’s goal is 30% of all new cars – that’s 1.7 million EVs on the road in the next 2 decades. To do that, a lot of work will have to go into supporting the electricity grid to keep ‘em charged up. And there’s a long way to go to convince drivers – currently 1% of new vehicles sold in Australia are electric, although numbers are rising with record sales this year. Labor’s policy this election is to subsidise the cost of EVs – something Team Morrison is not proposing to do.

What’s top of the pops at the COP?

Speaking of lowering emissions… World leaders might have left Glasgow, but officials have a mountain of work to get through in this second and final week of the international climate summit. Financial help for vulnerable developing countries is now at the front of the agenda. This discussion is billed as ‘cash for climate change‘ – something that has been unresolved since 2015. By 2023, $100 billion will be handed over by wealthy nations for resilience/adaptation projects in developing countries that are feeling the heat – but they also want compensation for loss and damage already inflicted. Another hard nut to crack this week: carbon trading. Called ‘Article 6’, it looks at setting the rules for global carbon markets that will become super important as countries balance their greenhouse gas books to drive towards net zero emissions by 2050.

An appeal on the way

That’s according to convicted Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant’s new legal representative. Reports say human rights lawyer Tony Ellis has sent a memo to New Zealand’s chief coroner saying Tarrant has received “inhumane and degrading” treatment while in custody and awaiting trial, and he pleaded guilty under duress. That likely means an appeal against his convictions for killing 51 people in March 2019 will be lodged, reports say. He will have an opportunity to be heard next month during a hearing about the upcoming coronial inquiry into his crimes, “just like all interested parties”, officials say. Survivors say the Australian is trying to re-traumatise the Muslim community he targeted in the attacks.

De Rozario takes New York

She made Australia proud when she won the Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo. Now wheelchair athlete Madison de Rozario has become the first Aussie woman to win the New York marathon. Holding off 2 former winners, de Rozario finished the iconic endurance event in 1:51:01 – 3 minutes ahead of her nearest competitor. “It’s been my least successful event, and my least successful consistently. But the 2 years we weren’t travelling, we buried ourselves in base work and strength work, and it’s paid off not just here but in Tokyo. It’s so nice to see,” she said post-race. Equally impressive is the casual way de Rozario entered the race. She only confirmed she would be a starter 2 weeks ago after NSW ditched quarantine for returning Aussies. Shame she didn’t get a chance to do any celeb-spotting…

Sticking by her mate

If you’re Jemima Goldsmith and that mate was Princess Diana, you can be sure it will create waves… Goldsmith has been a British tabloid media magnet since forever. She was 21yo when she married Imran Khan – a retired cricketer who would become Pakistan’s PM. That ended, and she’s now a screenwriter and television producer, and as a close friend of Diana’s, she’s uniquely placed to help the makers of The Crown. Goldsmith says she was onboard to “co-write” the 5th season because she wanted to see “my friend’s life be portrayed accurately and with compassion”. Now she says the wildly successful series isn’t doing that, and she’s left the show. That was news to creator Peter Morgan who said she didn’t have a contract and was one of “a wide network of well-informed and varied sources” giving advice. Remember, it’s all fiction anyway… Season 5 will be out in November 2022 dammit that’s a long time away.

They survived an earthquake, they hatched as fluffballs, and now the falcons born and raised at the top of a Melbourne office block are leaving the nest. There’s a lot of people who now have a lot of time back in their diaries…

Speaking of fancy birds, a carving of Anne Boleyn’s emblem – a royal falcon – was auctioned for $140 in 2019. Now properly identified, experts say its true value is believed to be about $350,000. Turn that into an episode of Antiques Roadshow stat…

If you’re digging into an analysis of the healthiest cheeses, it’s time to take a good hard look at yourself. It’s all great, and all things in moderation… Just maybe lay off the brightly coloured/processed stuff…

HSC written examinations commence in NSW

Company AGMs – Coles Group, Fortescue Metals

Company Results – National Australia Bank

Cambodia’s Independence Day

A birthday for singer Delta Goodrem (1984)

Anniversary of:
• Napoleon Bonaparte becoming the dictator of France under the title of First Consul after staging a coup (1799) 
• the opening of checkpoints allowing East Berliners to walk freely into West Berlin (1989)
• the birthday of actress/inventor Hedy Lamarr (1914) 
• the deaths of British PM Neville Chamberlain (1940), French president Charles de Gaulle (1970), author Stieg Larsson (2004)