Macquarie Airports looks to sell Japan Airport stake

SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) - Macquarie Airports (MAP.AX) (MAP), a fund managed by Australia's biggest investment bank Macquarie Group (MQG.AX), has offered to sell its 15 percent holding in Japan Airport Terminal (9706.T) (JAT).

MAP said on Wednesday it was offering to sell the stake back to JAT, as part of JAT's tender offer to buy back a total 22 percent of its own shares at 1,000 yen ($10.38) each. The buyback would go to a JAT shareholder vote on June 26, MAP said.

"While we still expect JAT's strategy to bear fruit, the external environment has changed significantly since we made the investment and, given the size of our interest, we will not have the opportunity to apply our active management," Kerrie Mathe, MAP's chief executive said in a statement.

If MAP's entire 15 percent interest should be acquired at the tender offer price, MAP would expect to realise a maximum of about A$260 million ($202 million).

As a result, Macquarie Airports would cut its 2009 distribution to 21 cents per security, from earlier guidance of 27 cents. Macquarie Airports is one of the world's largest private airport owners and operators, with airports in Sydney, Japan, Mexico and Europe. It has a market value of about A$3.35 billion. ($1=1.290 Australian Dollar) ($1=96.30 Yen)

(Reporting by Mette Fraende; Editing by Mark Bendeich)