Business news with words aviation+plans+rival. 2 news.

AUCKLAND International Airport Ltd, fighting a takeover offer from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said a second group is considering a bid, sending shares of New Zealand's transport hub higher. The potential bidder indicated its interest in November and will have access to the airport's accounts, Chairman Tony Frankham said in a statement yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. The board opposes Canada Pension's US$1.4 billion offer for a 40-percent stake, which includes putting the airport's assets into a holding company and issuing new stock and convertible notes. The prospect of a rival bid may be enough to slow acceptances of the Canadian offer, which closes March 13. The board is seeking proposals from investors with more aviation experience than the Toronto-based fund manager and plans to begin assessing alternatives early in 2008, Frankham said. "You wonder if this is more a tactic from the airport board just trying to make the CPP bid seem less

AIR China Ltd has no plans to acquire China Eastern Airlines Corp and its recent stake increase in the domestic rival doesn't reflect such a move, company secretary Huang Bin said yesterday. Air China's parent recently increased its holding in China Eastern's H-shares, which triggered speculation that the country's flagship international carrier hasn't given up its plan to trump the deal between China Eastern and Singapore Airlines. China National Aviation Holding Co raised its stake in China Eastern to 12.07 percent from 11.02 percent on November 29 at HK$7.585 a share for 4.28 million shares. Huang said a Hong Kong-based investment arm under the parent company increased the shares on its own initiative. China Eastern's board secretary, Luo Zhuping, said they have no worries about Air China's share increase and will operate normally. Luo said in another report that Air China can hold as much as five percent of China Eastern's shares in the secondary market, which means