GDA consortium's bid for Malaysia Airports becomes unconditional

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Malaysia Airports MAHB.KL said on Tuesday that a takeover bid by the Gateway Development Alliance (GDA) consortium was now unconditional and had reached an acceptance level of 95.11%. The consortium, led by Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, launched its offer in May to acquire all remaining shares in the company at 11 ringgit per share. This values the airport operator, which manages most of Malaysia's airports, at 18.4 billion ringgit ($4.19 billion). Khazanah, MAHB's largest shareholder, formed the GDA consortium with international partners, including Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). However, the plan has faced criticism and protests from some lawmakers in Malaysia, both from the ruling party and the opposition, leading to delays in finalizing the deal. "Bursa Securities will suspend the trading of the securities of MAHB commencing from February 20", Malaysia Airports said in a statement. ($1 = 4.3880 ringgit) (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid) (([email protected];))