Market close: Mayor Brown causes market turmoil over airport

Mayor Wayne Brown’s comments caused huge ripples in the market after he said in a council meeting today that “further dilution” of the council’s 18% stake in AIA was “almost inevitable”.

“They’re about to go do a major raising to fund a new domestic airport, and we will not be contributing to that,” he said.

“So our 18% will soon become about 11% or 10%, and at that stage it becomes less and less strategic.”

Auckland International Airport shares were swiftly put in a trading halt for almost an hour after the mayor's comments were published.