KEY POINTS:
It is probably council bureaucracy rather than any sense of dramatic flair that sees the Auckland City Council move the date of the crucial vote on the future of Auckland International Airport from March 5 or 6 to the 12th.
Nevertheless the local body has ensured that the
day will be one of high drama when councillors meet to decide the fate of the airport.
The new date falls just one day before the deadline for the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's (CPPIB) bid to buy 40 per cent of the airport.
The council has already ruled out selling any shares but as the biggest individual shareholder - with a 12.75 per cent stake - it is still likely to decide the outcome of this process.
Because CPPIB has made a partial takeover offer it needs to get approval from 50 per cent of shareholders (at least 50 per cent of those that bother to send in their forms) to proceed.
The spotlight will be well and truly on councillors and it will be an uncomfortable glare from a political point of view - given the public sentiment towards asset sales.
But while there is plenty of popular opposition to the sale, there is the carrot of a sizeable capital return being dangled before the cash-hungry local body.
Part two of CPPIB's plan for the airport - if the sale goes ahead - is a restructuring of the company to make it more tax efficient. If that were to eventuate then Auckland City might get to have its cake and eat it - taking some cash off the table while retaining its stake.
Opponents of the sale argue the restructuring is unlikely to get approval from the IRD, meaning the council could miss out on a capital return but will have given away the control premium on its shares if it votes to let the sale proceed but holds its shares.
It's pretty complicated stuff for councillors - most of whom don't have a great deal of market experience - to mull over in the next three weeks.
Thankfully the council does have an experienced team of advisers to crunch the numbers and distil the ramifications for them.
A cynic might think that by shifting the decision to the last possible day the councillors are giving themselves a half chance of getting off the hook in terms of playing king maker.
The CPPIB camp is certainly hoping that they can rally the numbers to avoid relying on the council's vote. If that happens the council decision may be irrelevant.
It seems a long shot to imagine CPPIB will sway enough of the local retail shareholders to achieve that, but anything is possible.
We are getting regular updates on the voting process (last notice was 7.3 per cent of votes counted - 42.38 in favour 57.62 per cent against), so the councillors will at least know where they stand by March 12.
If, as many suspect, this is going to go down to the wire it may rate as one of the biggest calls many of these local body politicians have ever made.
MARKET DOLDRUMS
Yesterday's flurry of mostly excellent results from solid, well-run New Zealand businesses provided a stark reminder of just what local investors are up against right now.
The good news flowing out of Contact Energy, Sky TV, Michael Hill and others has proved once again that it doesn't really matter what management does in the short term. Local stocks are at the mercy of US sentiment - and Asian and Australian sentiment for that matter.
Yesterday the world followed Wall St's lead again and New Zealand was no exception, closing down about 0.5 per cent.
It is frustrating for investors watching their stocks daily and looking to see a sustained rally. The days we do rebound tend to be those when there is a vacuum of US news.
Clearly there is local appetite for good stocks. But it looks like it could be some months yet before the US lets the rest of the world get back in black.
* Liam Dann is the Herald's business editor.
