SYDNEY, July 5, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Sydney Airport received a multi-billion-
dollar takeover bid from a consortium of Australian investors Monday, sending
its share price soaring.

   The consortium of infrastructure investors and Australian pension funds
offered Aus$8.25 per share -- or Aus$22.3 billion (US$17 billion).

   The proposal "has been made during a global pandemic which has deeply
affected the aviation industry and the Sydney Airport security price", the
airport's board said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

   "The indicative price is below where Sydney Airport's security price
traded before the pandemic."

   The investors -- calling themselves the Sydney Aviation Alliance --
confirmed the approach, saying they invested on behalf of more than six
million Australian pension fund members.

   The alliance said the proposal would ensure substantial ongoing Australian
ownership of the country's biggest airport, contending it was "in the long-
term interest of Sydney and the travelling public".

   Sydney Airport's share price spiked more than 30 percent on the offer,
which is now being considered by the company's board.