Dexus executives step down over leaked airport data case

Dexus said key executives have been stood down while the board and management consider the NSW Supreme Court judgement for it to sell its stake in Melbourne and Launceston airports.

Dexus will also pay for the legal costs of any appeal for its institutional investors, adding whether an appeal will be filed would depend on the Dexus Bloc shareholders.

The court ruled late May that Dexus must sell its 27.2% stake in Australia Pacific Airports Corporation (APAC), which owns and operates the airports on behalf of various investors, to its remaining shareholders at fair market value.

In 2024 Dexus embarked on Project Mercury to sell some of the APAC shares managed by it.

Under the shareholders' deed, however, Dexus was strictly restricted to giving out confidential data to outsiders without securing a pre-approved, enforceable confidentiality agreements with its fellow investors.

Dexus breached this safeguard in the sale process, exposing APAC's sensitive financial data to prospective buyers via an unmonitored Virtual Data Room.

In 2025 APAC gave Dexus a default notice, asserting a "material irremediable breach" of the shareholders' deed, asserting all members of the Dexus Bloc are no longer entitled to vote the shares held by them, that the rights of the directors appointed by them are suspended, and that their rights to receive information is suspended.

IFM Investors led the legal action against Dexus with the backing of other APAC shareholders, such as the Future Fund, NSW TCorp, and Morrison-managed Utilities Trust of Australia.

REST, which holds a 1.73% stake in APAC directly through the Dexus Bloc, is also a defendant in the case.

The super fund contested that because it was a "non-selling shareholders" who didn't participate in the data leaks, it should be treated differently.

However, the judge dismissed this claim, ruling that each investor group is run by a single manager who acts as the sole point of contact.

Dexus has also commenced a review of its infrastructure funds and mandates that transitioned to it as part of its 2023 AMP Capital acquisition. The scope of the review would include Dexus Diversified Infrastructure Trust, Dexus Community Infrastructure Fund, Dexus Core Infrastructure Fund, Australia Pacific Airports Fund vehicles, Infrastructure mandates and separately managed accounts.