COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Sydney Airport rejects buyout bidSydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd rejected an improved A$22.80 billion (US$16.81 billion) bid from a group of infrastructure investors, saying that it undervalued the airport operator, but that it was open to a higher offer.The new offer valued Sydney Airport at A$8.45 per share, 2.4% higher than the previous offer of A$8.25 a share, and a more than 9% premium to the stock's Friday close.A successful takeover would be among the largest buyouts ever of an Australian firm and underline a year of stellar deal activity, that has already seen a mega US$29 billion buyout of Afterpay.But it would require Sydney Airport to allow due diligence as well as receiving approvals from shareholders, the competition regulator and the Foreign Investment Review Board, a process that typically takes months.The unanimous board rejection comes a month after the airport operator turned down an initial bid from the Sydney Aviation Alliance (SAA), a consortium of Australian investors IFM Investors and QSuper and US-based Global Infrastructure Partners. -Nampa/ReutersEmirates flight diverts to DubaiEmirate’s airline said a flight to Kabul on Sunday was diverted due to the temporary closure of the runway at the airport, while fellow Dubai state-owned carrier flydubai suspended services.The Emirates Boeing 777-300 flight circled over the Afghanistan capital, aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 showed, before returning to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates."We are monitoring developments around the situation in Afghanistan and are working closely with all the relevant authorities to ensure the safe operation of our services," an Emirates spokesperson said.Flydubai said earlier that a Boeing 737 service to Kabul on Sunday returned to Dubai mid-flight and that the airline had suspended its services to the city until further notice. -Nampa/ReutersCobham to buy UK rival UltraDefence firm Cobham said it has agreed to buy Ultra Electronics in a deal valuing its UK-listed rival at 2.57 billion pounds (US$3.56 billion) and set out commitments to allay any potential concerns over national security.Shareholders in Ultra, which counts the British and US governments as its customers, will get 35 pounds a share as per the terms of the proposed deal, first announced in late July.Cobham, owned by American private equity firm Advent, said it will engage with the British government to agree the detailed terms, duration, nature and form of its binding commitments, which would apply immediately after the closing of the deal to protect Ultra's businesses and stakeholders."Cobham recognises the specific importance of Ultra's contribution to the UK's economy and national security," Cobham said. -Nampa/ReutersHSBC snaps up Axa's insurance assetsHSBC Holdings agreed to acquire French insurer Axa's Singapore assets for US$575 million, part of its strategy of scaling up its wealth-management business in Asia and boosting fee income.HSBC said in a statement that the combined unit comprising HSBC Life Singapore and Axa Singapore would be the seventh-largest life insurer and the fourth-largest retail health insurer in Singapore, with over 600 000 policies in-force covering life, health and property and casualty insurance."This transaction gives the scale and the capability to continue to invest and grow from here," Bryce Johns, global CEO of HSBC life and insurance partnerships, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.The deal is HSBC's largest acquisition since the US$726 merger of its Oman branch with Oman International Bank in 2012, according to Dealogic.Singapore, one of Asia's biggest offshore wealth hubs, is also home to thousands of global companies using the city-state as a base for regional operations. -Nampa/ReutersHyatt to buy Apple Leisure GroupUS hotel operator Hyatt Hotels Corp said on Sunday it entered a deal to buy resort company Apple Leisure Group from its private-equity owner KKR & Co and travel-and-leisure specialist KSL Capital Partners for US$2.7 billion in cash.The acquisition of Apple Leisure Group's asset-light business will increase the percentage of revenues and earnings Hyatt will generate from fees, Hyatt said in a statement.The hotel operator said it anticipates fulfilling its current commitment to sell US$1.5 billion of hotel real estate in 2021 and is further committing to an additional US$2 billion in proceeds from the sale of hotel real estate by the end of 2024.Hyatt said it expects to fund more than 80% of the purchase with a combination of US$1 billion of cash on hand and new debt financings, and the remainder with about US$500 million from equity financing. It added that Hyatt has secured a US$1.7 billion financing commitment from JP Morgan.Cash proceeds from the US$2 billion asset sale program are expected to be used to pay down debt, including debt incurred to fund the acquisition, Hyatt said, adding that the deal is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.-Nampa/Reuters

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