Airports Group Europe S.à  r.l., an indirect subsidiary of IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (IFM GIF), has finally acquired 29.9% stake in Flughafen Wien AG (Vienna aiport), in Austria.

IFM GIF raised its offer for the asset on 5 December 2014. The decision involved an offer of €82 a share, which was 2€ more than the previous offer. The price per share represented a premium of 32.9% over the closing share price of October 10, 2014, more than the premium of 29.7% of its last offer.

Werner Kerschl, Investment Director of IFM Investors, stated:

"We are very pleased with the outcome. We received considerable interest from investors, and feel reassured that we made a fair and attractive offer. We believe that Austria and Flughafen Wien in particular, represent an especially attractive investment opportunity, and we have considerable confidence in the existing management team. Our investment reflects a long-term, responsible commitment to Flughafen Wien. With over 19 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, IFM can offer its expertise and support to Flughafen Wien and its stakeholders for the long-term development."

The improved offer price of EUR 82 per share will be paid by the receiving and payment agent to the shareholders who have duly accepted the offer no later than Tuesday, 23 December 2014 simultaneously against transfer of the shares. The total transaction value is approximately US$515 million.

Nomura International Plc is acting as financial advisor, while Eisenberger & Herzog Rechtsanwalts GmbH is acting as Austrian legal advisor.

In mid October we reported that IFM Investors announced that the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (IFM GIF) intended to launch a public voluntary offer to acquire a non-controlling minority stake of between 20% and 29.9% of the share capital of Flughafen Wien AG through its indirect subsidiary, Airports Group Europe S.à  r.l..

The vast majority of investors in IFM GIF are institutional pension funds investing on behalf of millions of individual workers, spread over multiple jurisdictions including Australia, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the United States and Canada. The firm  owns small Australian airports and has also invested in British, German and Polish infrastructure.