A major stakeholder in Sydney Airport Corporation Limited has spoken out about the $22.3 billion takeover bid, saying they expect a sale will eventuate. As the board met to consider the bid from a consortium of pension and super funds known as the Sydney Aviation Alliance, ClearBridge Investments' infrastructure portfolio manager Shane Hurst said it was clear the proposal was being taken very -seriously. "I think they want to extract the greatest value they can for shareholders and that may mean really opening up to more offers that may come in," Mr. Hurst said. "Certainly we think there's value above where the stock is currently trading and there's been discussions in the media about other bids, so I think the board and management team are weighing that up." A bid team led by Macquarie Group was believed to be exploring a rival offer to trump the -Sydney Aviation Alliance's -conditional proposal of $8.25 a share.